I £4.50
A
Requires any 1Mb Amiga
r
lit i'm pyhji
mm
istiiteifM
m
IHE
JI_U
\
.>
i
Requires Hard drive, WB3
mi
jy,-j';jl\,k'jr -Trie best Spectrum simulator
J/i"J>iS'J :"<. : Greatest bencnrr.Erk gets updated
ft&wph ■ Plo! complex maths functions
Bwwllew » Turbo replacement for More
MytarDHtt • Replace the old fjflf"
AVH « A rapid AVI player i
4036 Colours on Workbend
A great new image processor
f
-T
n
03
AHf EPPBtf UPDKfB • GiET JNTCJ SAMPLING • P;\GiH3Tfi£;\lV] 3,2
"Mforfcf of A1200 99 Sk "Top lOO Games"
CDs FREE with tvwy CO IKMIf drtvoiti
DISCOLOGY
Discology is the ultimate in disk copying
power for the Amiga. The package
comprises the Discology Disk, manu-
j. , al and Discology cartridge for making
cooies of heavily protected
programs with an external
rj;^^ disk drive.
ky^-S^i ' Discology will also
D< ^>- format disks,
check disks for
rnre etc.
TOTAL MEMORY EXPANSION:
**^», A120O trapdoor fitting memory expansions feature a battery backed clock and a socket
-.* ..V accelerator FPU. Unlike other memory expansions that conflict with the PCMCIA port, our
— ( TOTAL memory expansions include unique software that will enable the maximum amount
of memory to be used even with a PCMCIA fitting device.
^*~ NEARLY DOUBLES THE SPEED OF THE A 1200
4MB MEMORY EXPANSION £69.99
8MB MEMORY EXPANSION £89.99
£29.9
or only !~ i~j
n purchased with above
ANTIVIRUS
Antl Virus Professional is the most pow-
' for detecting and removing
Hi Virus pro will check and
even CD ROM drives for viruses.
I forward to
se. includes a
page
'?;..
*%/
R D E R
BEFORE A VIRUS DES
YOUR SYSTEM !!!
PLEASE PHONE FOR A FULL INFOR*
SHEET
£19
EACH OR BUY
BOTH for
tfj*^
DATAFLYER
SCSI+
MODEMS
Our highly rated, top quality feature packed modems are ideal for
Amiga users. All modems include our FREE MODEM ACCESSORIES
PACK (worth £-,?.??) which includes a cable to connect the modem
to the Amiga. NCOMM comms software, Amiga Guide to Comms and a
list of Bulletin Boards from which you will be able to download va
amounts of free software as well as have access to EMAIL facili-
ties.
• MNP 2-4 Error Correction • MNP 5 Data Compression •
Fax Class I and II compatible, Group 3 • Hayes Compafr' L '
• Full 80 page manual • 12 Months guarantee >
T
1 14400 MODEM £69.99
33600 MODEM
NET AND WEB SOFTWARE
Now includes CD
ROM drivers and
instructions.
The Dataflyer is a 16 bit
SCSI II controller card that
^converts the signals on
* the internal IDE interface
i. to also run SCSI
ces at the same
as the IDE hard
drive. The Dataflyer SCSI+ will operate up to 5 SCSI
devices such as CD-ROMS, hard drives, Syquest remov-
able drives, tape back up drives etc. Unlike other SCSI
interfaces, the Dataflyer SCSI+ is compatible with all
known accelerators etc and it does not stop you from util-
ising any of the important expansion ports on your
A120O/A60O. The Dataflyer SCSit easily installs into the
A1200/A600 (simply pushes in, no need to remove the
metal shield) and provides a 25 way D connector through
the blanking plate at the back of the A1200. Full mstruc-
ALSO AVAILABLE...
EXTERNAL FLOPPY DRIVE £49.99
A600/A1200 INTERNAL
FLOPPY DRIVE £44.99
A500 INTERNAL FLOPPY DRIVE £49.99
MOUSE £12.99
3.5' HARD DRIVE CABLE £17.50
2.5' HARD DRIVE CABLE £9.99
FRESH FONTS CD £19.99
PHOTO CD-MANAGER £19.99
AMIGA POWER SUPPLY £34.99
CLOCK CARTRIDGE £19.99
CACHE CDFS £44.99
EPIC ENCYCLOPEDIA
CD(full version) £19.99
WORLD OF A1200 CD and TOP 100 A1200
GAMES CD £7.49 EACH or FREE with
every CD ROM drive!!!
9.99
DATAFLYER ONLY
when purchsed with a
SCSI device
UIRREL ONLY
or
when
rchsed with a
SCSI device
SURF SQUIRREL
when
purchsed with
a SCSI device
Freephone OSO© 3-4-OS48
to placo your
ACCELERATOR,
POLLO 1230
t LITE £99.9
h quality low cost 68030 i
i MMU and FPU all running at 33mh. Built in
y backed clock. Easy trapdoor fitting. Amazing
performance for such a low price. Will take a 4mb or 8mb SIMM.
Fully PCMCIA compatible even with 8mb! Not PCMCIA compati-
ble with 8mb fitted.
APOLLO 1230 PRO £149.99
All the features you asked for at an affordable price!
formance 68030 with FPU and MMU running at 40mru
72pin SIMM sockets can take upto 32mb each. Simms can
be mixed (i.e. a 4mb and Smb will give 12mb) and can be sin-
gle or double sided. Fully PCMCIA compatible regardless of
how much memory is fitted. Easy trapdoor fitting with bat-
tery backed clock
APOLLO
1240/1260
68040/68060+MMU ba__
A1200 accelerator. Features
battery backed clock and a 72
socket for a standard 72 pin SIMI
Fully featured, fan cooled trapdoor fitting accel
"^wit LvvVsii PJ*s»*
£224.99
£289.99
£449.99
APOLLO 1240/25
APOLLO 1240/40
APOLLO 1260/50
I 4MB SIMM £19.99
8MB SIMM £39.99 OR
j 16MB SIMM £79.99 WHEN
| 32MB SIMM £169.99 WHEN
PURCHASED WITH AN APOLLO ACCELERATOR
CD-ROM DRIV
TOTAL SCSI CD-ROM DRIVE
Fully featured SCSI CD-ROM drive for use with the A1200 or
A600, Features include superb metal enclosure with in-built
mains power supply. Includes all software, cables and Instruc-
tions for immediate use. Full CD32 emulation and Audio CD
player software included. No extras needed! Just plug in and
- go. Choose either PCMCIA fitting Squirrel interface or internal-
ly fining Dataflyer SCSI interface.
TOTAL CD-ROM DRIVES
2 speed £129.99
4 speed £179.99
6 speed £219.99
8 speed £259.99
Prices include Squirrel.
Add £30.00 for Dataflyer or Surf Squirrel
ULTRA
CD-RO.
rVFULLi
BUFFEf
INTERFAl
Superb IDE CDflOM drive system for
the A1200. Fully featured, top quality
drives in a top quality enclosure with
bunt in power supply. All cables, instructions, software including
CD32 emulator and audio CD player etc., included for immediate
use. The CDfiOM interface supply plugs inside the A1200 (excep-
tionally easy to fit by anybody) and provides a connector in the blank-
ing plate at the rear of the A1200. next to the mouse
PLEASE PHONE FOR FURTHER
~^AILS AND INFORMATION SHEET
'69.99
99.99
ULTRA 4 SPEED
ULTRA 8 SPEE
ON RENO CD-RO.
SQUIF iEL £114.99
>^
.. Superb top quality CO ROM DRIVE
complete with Squirrel for imme-
\ diate use on the Amiga A1200
J or a600. Includes CD32 emu-
I lation, audio CD player etc as
^3 well as its own CD power sup-
ply, cables etc. Can also be
ed as a personal audio CD pjaye|
includes stereo headph"™
w
RENO CD WITH SQUIRREL £114.99
2.5" HARD DRIVES
Our high speed 2.5' IDE hard drives
* for the Amiga A1200 & A600 com-
puters come complete with fitting
/Cable, screws, partitioning software,
I instructions and 12 months
jarantee. All drives supplied
by us are formatted, parti-
» ■' tioned and have Workbench
{WB2 for the A600 and WB3 for
the A1200) installed for immediate
use. Fitting is incredibly simple; if you can plug the mouse into
the mouse socket, you can plug the hard drive into the hard
-,S£RVIceRMfPtRSOfMLCAll£RS,Pl£ASEPHONEfOR
FREE 'HOW TO FIT YOUR HARDDRIVE'
disk to increase the drive's capacity with every hard drive ordered
J5mb
A500/t420mb Hard Drive
£139.99
£164.99
siren
No.l
: 0R MAIL ORDER
No.l
FOR AMIGA
IN MANCHESTER
Order NOW for
immediate despatch
(credit switch card sales only)
tel: 0161 796 5279
fax: 0161 796 3208
Send cheques or
postal orders
(made payable to
Siren Software)
r credit card details to:-
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SOFTWARE,
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WHITEFIELD,
MANCHESTER
M45 6QF,
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Access, Visa. Switch, Delta.
Connect etc accepted
OPEN:
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he M62 Junction 17
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The door to our premises
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:e charged di.-jI3.50 per orde
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Action news
Oo blah dee, oo blah dah, life goes on
yeaaah. So does the world of Amiga
gaming. Hugh Poynton sorts it out...
Cygnus 8
64
Oo er, I haven't been doing my job properly,
I've managed to completely miss the previous
7, the Eds gonna kill me. Hugh Poynton
reviews Cygnus 8, a game whose title could
confuse stupid people.
Peripherals
Hugh Poynton reviews Logic 3's new
range of peripherals for the Amiga
65
Jet pilot 66
Take a spin in Vulcan's latest and great-
est flight sim with AC'S resident stiff
upper lipped blokey Hugh Poynton.
Tommy gun
Salsa slaughter! Hugh Poynton confronts
Homicidal pizza topping Tommy Gun in
Mutation Software's latest offering.
68
Aurora 69
We chart the rise of Aurora, an exciting new
Amiga games developer from across the water
74
Absolute beginners
Part 2 of Hugh Poynton's interview with
Chris Page, student, Amiga games
programmer and soon to be rich bloke...
Blockhead 77
Fit some blocks into holes. No no, it is
interesting. Find out by reading Hugh Poynton's
preview of Applause's new puzzler.
\[\ EVIEWS
PageStream
13 Art effect 1 -5 E3
Careth Lofthouse reviews the latest
DTP package from Soft-Logik
Laser guidance ED
Hugh Poynton is as happy as a housewife on a
tumble dryer with this new collection of CD releases
Mr Mohr touches up the Spice Girls with the
new version of this popular paint package
EATURES
Sampling special
Radio waves
Neil Mohr reveals how to get into sam-
pling without spending a fortune
Rave new world
Hugh Poynton interviews rave guru, Scott Hallam,
about how he uses a humble^
A500 to produce
top choonsi
al lut ftiT emeu bikmpe tuitn mnm
. S'MS^ H " nr'MW*AvSrS
Sysop_
ID C compiler
The last instalment on
running your own BBS
The latest in the series which gives
you hints and tips on C Programming
MARCH 1997
HE COVERDISKS
Tiny Troops
Excellent new demo of Vulcan Software's fun
strategy game involving diddy
people
Tool-ey Unbelievable
Another collection of utilities that make life all
the more easier
OVER
STORY
World wide
AMIGA 97_
The exclusive survey
revealing what the
Amiga community thinks
about the direction of
the machine in 1997
01
News
EGULARS
The latest in the fortunes of Amiga plus
the most recent Web developments
USnews
Roving reporter, Katherine Nelson, divulges
the latest from across the pond
Acas
Neil Mohr, like a cheap bottle of gin,
will make all your problems go away.
MIGA GUIDE
Neil Mohr talks you
through getting the
most out of
Photogenics
What on earth is a
Wildcard? Find out
here
ft
Going dotty - Phil
South reveals
what ya do
Larry Hickmott gives
you advice on desktop
publishing
Amiga Computing
MARCH 1997
Olone female figure strides for-
wards. She has an impossibly cur-
vaceous figure. Large, pert breasts,
firm well rounded thighs and a
waist that any woman would kill for. Is this
the classic adolescent female figure of
desire. Bridget Bardot, Marilyn Monroe,
Pamela Anderson, women who, whilst
undoubtedly alluring were ultimately sex
objects?.
Perhaps. After all, Lara Croft's sexuality is
her trademark and there is little doubt that
her appearance will arouse more feminist
criticism than male appreciation.
However, there is another side to this new
feminine heroine. Her teeth are clenched, her
eyes hard and glaring. Her whole stance rep-
resents cold, hard and highly aggressive
female sexuality. It is only with a second
glance that we see in the pictures the gun in
her left hand and certainly it takes a back-
ground position in comparison to her purely
physical presence.
Does this kind of image do anything to for-
ward the, so to speak, female struggle for
equality or does it merely signify yet another
attack on women by a stereotypically male
misunderstanding of femininity? The obvious
answer seems to clearly lie with the latter
idea. After all, yet again the woman has been
reduced to a merely sexual being, only capa-
ble of expressing her personality through her
physical characteristics. At the same time,
however, there seems to be a side to this fig-
ure which has a much more positive aspect,
a side which I feel can not and should not be
ignored.
For a start, Lara Croft is totally dominant.
Her figure, her stance and perhaps most
importantly, her expression puts her firmly in
control. This woman is far from a fool and
any man who dares to mess will be sorely
burnt for his troubles. Whilst her sexuality is
overt to say the least, it has clearly been
depicted as a tool to be used as part of her
control technique,
For women as a whole, such a figure
appears far from demeaning. It seems that
over the last century advances for women
have largely been to the detriment of her
femininity and indeed, sexuality. In our fight
for equality we seem to be attempting to
increasingly enter the traditional male
The AC team
EDITOR
DEPUTY EDITOR
ART EDITOR
PRODUCTION EDITORS
STAFF WRITER
REGULAR CONTRIBUTORS
CONTRIBUTING EDITOR
AD SALES
AD PRODUCTION
MARKETING MANAGER
PRODUCTION MANAGER
DATABASE MANAGER
Tim Hackect
Neil Mohr
Graham Parry,
Tym Leckey
Justine Bowden,
Alan McLachlan
Hugh Poyncon
Dave Cusiek
Katherine Nelson
PaulOwru
Phil South
Gareth Lofthouse
Sue Horsefield
Barbara Newall
Steve Tagger
Alan Capper
Victoria Quinrv Hirkifi
List Rental Enquiries
0171 831 9252
5i
Pixelated
Pleasures
When Tomb Raider for the PC was released a
few months ago, the games heroine Lara Croft
caused much controversy. Men liked her,
women hated her. Ultra slinky sex vixen bimbo
or feminist crusader against the phallus wielding
oppressors? Caroline 'Don't call me babe'
Lofthouse decides
domain of career development and financial
independence. This is all well and good, but
there certainly seems to be a point where
women's sexuality is somehow stamped
under the carpet in an attempt to prove our
similarities and thus equality to men.
Lara Croft represents an advance in com-
puter game vision in that it gives the female
heroine power and dominance, not merely
through the addition of a male muscular
physique but through an almost aggressively
powerful appreciation and control of her sex-
uality. She is depicted as a figure totally aware
of her physical qualities and in that context,
appears able to use it to her own advantage.
Rather than merely criticise yet another
apparent debasement of women, we should
perhaps hail the creators of Lara Croft for cre-
ating an exciting and incredibly powerful
vision of female sexual aggression.
CIRCULATION DIRECTOR DavidWren
MANAGING DIRECTOR Ian Bloomfield
DISTRIBUTION COKAG (0189S) 4444SS
SUBSCRIPTION CH5I-357 2961
Member of die Audit Bureau of Circtilauoris
22,051
JaiHun 1 996
Published by IDG Media. Media House.Adltrgton Park.
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©I996 IDG Media . No material may be
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Amiga Computing
MARCH 1997
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Memory Upgrades
GVP-32 60ns 4mb Simm
99S5
GVP-32 60ns 16mbSimm
259.95
lx8-70nsSimm
19.95
lx8-80nsSimm
17.95
lx9-70nsSimm
20.95
4x8-70nsSimm
39.95
72-pin SIMM Special
Ix32-60ns Simm (4mb)
19.95
2x32-60nsSimm(8mb)
39.95
4x32 -60ns Simm (16mb)
79.95
8x32-60nsSimm(32mb)
169.95
16x32-60ns Simm (64mb)
489.95
DRAM Specia
1
ix4-70nsSC7.ip
9.95
Ix4-70ns Page Zip
9.95
1x4 80ns Page Dip
9.95
25(«4-70ns Page Dip
3.95
2S(«i-i-70ns Page Zip
...
Ixl 100ns Page Dip
3.00
Hard Drives
VV.D. 2.:>"3 10mMDE
149.00
Toshiba 2.5" 1.3i>b IDE
399.95
Quantum 3.5" 525mb SCSI
189.95
Seagate 33" i.osgbscsi
299.95
2.5" Hard Drive Cable
8.95
2.5" Hard Drive Bracket
14.95
Amiga Software
Alien Breed 3D AGA/CD32
19.95
Alien Breed 3D 11 (Hot)
39.50
Amine! Share 4
7.95
Amine! 14-16
18.95
Amine! Set 3-4
39.00
Amiga Developer CD 1.1
17.95
Amiga Repair Kit CD
39.00
Asim CDFS 2.0
22.95
Capital Punishment ACiA
39.50
CUM Amiga UNIX Multiuse
49.95
Chaos Engine CD32
9.95
Deep Core CD32
9.95
Defender of Crown 11 CD32
9.95
D/Generatiun CD32
9.95
Director]! Opus 5.0
39.95
Fred Fish CD
15.95
Eric Schwartz CD Archive
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Euroscene 1 CD
6.95
Eve of the Beholder
29.95
FantaSeas CD
22.95
GaleWav 3 (New!
19.95
Geek Gadgets
19.00
Insight Technology CD32
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Lemmings CD
9.95
Fight ROM 3 CD
29.95
Light ROM 4 CD
39.95
Magic Illusions CD
13.95
Megaball 4 AGA/Non AGA
18.95
Microcosm CD32
9.95
Nigel ManseH'sCD32
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Nemac I\' (Hot)
42.95
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9.95
Pht>to CD Manager
32.95
QuarterBack Tool Deluxe
39.95
Sports Football CD32
9.95
Turbo Print Pro -I.I illol)
79.95
Wild Wheel
9.95
Wing Commander
29.95
Worms CD32/ Amiga (Hot)
19.95
Zooi CD32
9.95
Custom Chips
1.3 Kickstart Rom
13.95
2.04 Kickstart Rom
22.95
2.05 Kickstart Rom
26.95
3.0RomforA4000
49.95
3.1 Rom for A5/600/ 2000
44.95
3.1 Rom for A 12/ 30/4000
59.95
8 372 A 1 nib Agnus
34.95
8375 lmb Agnus
19.95
8372B2mb Agnus (A3000)
39.95
8373 Super Denise
29.95
8364 R7 Paula
16.95
5719 Gary
13.95
8520 A- 1 CIA
1 2.95
8520 Surface Mount
23.50
Super Buster Rev.l 1
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Super Dmac Rev.4
42.95
Ramsey Rev.7
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Eat Gary
39.95
W.D. SCSI Chip 8A
29.95
A2620-30 Rom Rev.7
29.95
A209] Rom Rev.7
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Upgrade Kits
AS 320 3.1 Kit for
A50O/6O0/20OO/2500 104.95
AS 312/330/340 3.1 Kit for
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Software & Manuals Only 64.95
All upgrade kits include Manuals,
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Peripherals & Hardware
Guru ROM V.6 (Low Profile)
70.95
Guru ROM V.6
62.95
A500 880K Int Floppv Drive
49.95
A3000THiDen Floppv Dr.
149.95
A500/I200 Power Supply
49.95
A2000 Power Supply
109.00
A2/3()oo Keyboard
79.95
A4000 Keyboard
S9.95
Safe Skin for A 12/20/30/4000
19.95
Keyboard Adapter A2000 Keyboard
(o A4000 Syslem
9.95
KB-10 Keyboard Adapler
39.95
15-23 Pin Monitor Adapter
24.95
Micro R&D C64 Power Sup.
35.00
Ext. SCSI Case 2HH/1FH
159.95
Ext. SCSI Case 4HH/2FH
219.95
A520 Video Adapter
15.95
RCA Video Cable
5.95
RF Modulator
7.95
Microwav Flicker Fixer
220.00
ICD AdSCSI 2000
49.95
Microbiolics 1200 Clock
19.95
CBM 2065 Ethernet Card
239.00
PC Software Clearance
Beast Within CD 49.95
The California Collection CD 9.95
Campaign II 29.95
Chess Master 4000 Turbo 39.95
Comanche CD 19.95
Education Platinum CD 9.95
Eye of Beholder Trilogy CD 49.95
MPC Wizard 2.0 CD 9.95
Power 'Fools CD 7.95
UNIX Power Tools CD 19.95
Using WWW w/Mosaic CD 9.95
Wing Commander Deluxe CD 19.95
iC^
ITEMS
Amiga Technologies Induta CD ROM
l?4lO-Drive Mm-ufimm*
„ . V. , Amig*MtiHtig
?A1'°T Peart niCD
CD-ROM Drive tor
A 1 200, via PCMCIA. Onlv...
No additional C 7 *7Q Q 5
Interlace required, 51 /7.7J
Vidi Annua 24 RT Video Digitizer
S209.00
Power Computing Ltd (UK)
High Density Floppy Drives
1.76ml! XL Interna! Drive AWtlO(T) SK'J.95
1,76ml) XI Externa! Drive stows
M-tcc 68020 A500 Accelerator
Accepts Standard 72-pin SIMM
$169.00'
Apollo 630 Turbo for A600
68020/25mhz & 68030/33mh2
Call
Apollo 1240 Turbo for A 1200
6S040/25mhz
$375.00
Apollo A500/2000 2meg Chip RAM
$179.00
AM-Trade Computer (Germany)
Fligh Density Floppy Drives
A40UUIT)
$109.00
A2D00
$114.00
Alfa Data Multiface I/O Card III
2 Serial Si I Parallel Ports
S99.95
Asim CDFS 3.7 w7 Fred Fish CD
CD ROM Driver for All Amigas
Special Price: $49.95
PC Task 4.0
Advanced -W6 Software hmultttur
Call for pricing
GVP I/O Extender
2 Serial Si 1 Parallel Ports
$115.95
Amiga Technologies
A4000T System
040/25mhz/6m'b/Igb HD
060/50mhz/6mb/lgb HD
AI200HD System
68020 Mmhz CPLUmeg Chip HAM
880 Floppy Drive, Hard Drive
Magic Software Bundle
1438S Monitor
14" tube, anti-glare, .28mm dot pilch,
Hori I 5-40kHz, Vert. 45-9011/.
Ml 764 Monitor
17" diagonal FST Invar Mask, .28mm dot
pilch, Hori l5-MkH/,Verl 45125Hz
Call for Pricing
Commodore A600 System
I meg Chip RAM, 880 Floppy Drive
Software Bundle
$299.00
w/540mb Hard Drive $449.00
Village
Tronic Graphics
Boards
Picasso
IV (Zorro III)
43y.00
Picasso
[1 Plus
299.00
Picasso
I({ He-furbished)
199.110
Math-Co Processor & CPU
M 68882 25mhz FN-PLCC
35.95
M68882 33mhz FN-PLCC
39.95
M68882 50mhzRC-PGA
69.95
M68010CPU
15.50
68O40RC 25mhz
95.95
Crystal Oscillators
8.95
CD ROM SCSI Drives
NEC4Xlnt/Ext 95/159.00
NEC8XInt/Ext 225/289.00
Panasonic 8X Int/F.xt 1 95/259.00
Toshiba 16X lnt/Kxl 295/359.00
Mice & Joysticks
Wizard Beige/Black Mouse
22.95
Powerplaver lovstick
6.95
WICO Black lovstick
7.95
Gravis Gamepad
12.95
CD 32 loypad
1 2.95
EXPANSION
tsrVMsitofdiXWS.
DataFlyer SCSI+ 1200
99.95
DataFlyer 2/3000 IDE
79.95
DataFlyer 2/3000 SCSI
89.95
Data Flyer 500 Ram Board
99.00
DataFlyer 2000 Ram Board
89.00
DataFlver 500 SCSI
149.00
Baseboard 1200
19.95
dfeb
Rapid Fire SCSI 11 Card
135.00
MegaChip for A500/2000
185.95
MBltiStart II for A500/2000
25.95
3 1 28 Expansion Board
189.00
Cobra 33 for A 1200
1 49.95
Ferret SCSI 11 for A 1 200
89.00
1 he Clock for A 1200
1 3.95
Oregon
Research
[browse -(-Termite
TCP
89,01)
Ibrowse
39.95
Squirrel Zip/Jaz '
"ools
24.95
Surf Squirrel
139.00
Termite TCP
59.95
PhaseS
CvherV'ision 3D 2mb/-lmb
Call
Mpcg Decoder
Call
Monitor Switch
Call
CyberStorm Mark II
899.00
CyberStorm SCSI Option
199.00
CyberVision64 Memory
79.00
CyberGraphics Software
49.00
Blizzard 2060 Turbo
899.00
Blizzard 1230 IV Turbo
269.95
Blizzard 1260 Turbo
799.95
Blizzard 1230/1260 SCSI
169.95
Modems & Telecom
Supra Fax 14.4 Ext.
M-i>
Supra Fax 33.6 Ext.
199.00
Supra Express Fax 33.6 Exi,
149.00
Supra Sonic 33.6 Ext.
269.00
AWeb-lIV.2.1 (New)
44.95
Serial/Null Modem Cable
7.95
Tech (408) 626-2633
Fax (408)625-6588
BBS (408)625-6580
Visa, Masler and Discover Card orders are accepted with no surcharge. We also ship COD only in payment of Cash,
Cashier's Check or Money Order. All returns must be returned and accompanied with a RMA= within 15 days.
Defective products will be replaced with the same item only. Software is non-returnable. Other returns subject to 25%
restocking fee. Shipping & Handling charges are non-refundable. Price & availability are subject to change without
notice. We do not guarantee hardware and software compatibility-. We are not responsible for any typographical errors.
low cost delivery Tel: 0113 231 -9444
f Lato Night Opening
Wednesday & Thursday
till 7.30pm
$
•2-4 Week Days £3.99
•NextWeekOay £5.99
•Saturday Delivery £15.00
Delivery subject to stockovailahiHty
SHOWROOM ADDRESS:
FIRST COMPUTER CENTRE,
DEPT. AC, UNIT 3, ARMLEYPARKCOURT,
STANNtNGLEY RD, LEEDS, LSI2 1AE.
COMPUTER CENTRE
ttMfe
**
VISA
■ E 1
-i'Vri'-Tfl
-
i^aJ
iiE ' = '" t! GE ffi GE
~ N7DAyS/tVv£eK
m
US I
.■.nil, fell [aim '.
mjttwiD. II c AiS it f jjj,i •;::
Hardware
FAX:0I 13-231-9191
BBS:0I 13-231-1422
E-Mail: sales@firstcom.demon.co.uk WEB: www.firstcom.demon.co.uk
l" CD ROM Drives
Mag
Amiga
A 1 200
cPack
includes. Wordworth V45E. Dausior-c,
Organiser, Tur&ocak 3.5, Personal
Paint VA. 4, Photogenic* I.25E.,
Pinb.l IMlUjiwiHJI
Very Limited Stocks
Available* Earty
Purchase Recommended
£379.99
Amiga A 1 200
Magic Pack
Inc. 1 70Mb HD
&ScalaMM300
Include** same software pack a:
Magic Pack, But alto includes
Scala MM300(Req. 4Mb).
£479.99
Ultra CD ROM Drives
6 X £189.99
8 X £199.99
16 X £229.99
Kit No Drive
£119.99
Quick & Easy to install, fits via the Internal IDE
Connector, docs not interfere with existing H.D.
Amiga Technologies
Q-Drive CD/ROM
o5T.£ 1 49.99
VmT^\M]438S Monitor Only!! *£259.99wr^" P E u h 4j
First Starter Pack
• A 1 200 dust cover
• 10 x DSDD disks ♦ labels
• Top quality joystick
• Deluxe mouse mat
• 3 x A 1 200 ;].i r n ■.
All
for only
£19.99
PRIMA
|The PrimaA TOM PSU
Heavy Duty PSU £69,99
H igh Quality 200 Watt PSU.
Colour Co-Ordinated Casing.
4 x The Power of Std. Amiga PSU
1 2 Month Warranty-
f TJm Anl (ii Jundvil i
PSU t jr.™? luppMam
Ar;cc[(rj;cr OOJ'di & Dili
Dn.H.Oiif IZ'aZ r: E*i*
PSU Of"** lelil [Ahr
External SCSI
I CD ROM Drives
PRIMA
Quad SCSI CD ROM
• Quality Sanyo Drive
• Own I ntemal PSU 1 TW
• Fast SCSI Transfer Rates
• 1 2 Month Warranty
ft SCSI Controller is Required Co connect DfiviV
' Internal SCSI CD ROM Drives 1
Sanyo CD254Vxj5 P ,.«i £87.99
TcacCDS6S.iS P «d £121.99
Toshiba S70 1 »nsptcd £149.99
SCSI Controllers
GVP4008+/OktagonSCSI £99.99
Bij bey. Aitt-jj* rs- A WttMBBS £CSf Conlnibn
SquirrtUSurf Squirrel £45.00/£75.G0
\ .Wtw^ cMM-tKiv^l-.;^ jiCD ROM D.
Hard Drives
3.5" Hard Disk Drives
IDE SCSI
540Mb..£l 17.99 270Mb £99.99
85QMb..£l 33.99 540Mb...£l 49.99
l.08Gig.£l60.99 1 ,08Gig.£2-t9.99
2.IGig... £229.99 2.1 Gig...£345.99
L 3,2Gig„,£299.99 4,3Gig.,„£797.99,
2.5" Hard Drives for A600/
A I 200 with installation kit
inc. software, screws, cables
and instructions
Build Your Own
SCSI Hard Drive
• SCSI case with built in PSU £69. 99
• SCSI Hard Drive, Select from above
• SCSI Squirrel Interface £-15. 00
» 1 2 Month Warranty.
Seagate corner
80Mb £64.99 l20Mb.£80.99
l70Mb...£85,99250Mb.£l 19.99
420Mb.£l29.99S40Mb.£l39.99
8 1 0Mb.£ I 49.99 1 ,0Gig.O I 9,99,
3.5" H.Drive install kit£l9.99
Monitors
Multi-Sync Monitors
14" I438s....£269.99
Includes Built In Stereo Speakers*
17" 1764 £579.99
17" 1701 £529.99
Disk Drives { Squirrel l/face
£ I 5 1 .77
■An^u*D.m.f b.r^ .(«>.. ir. coil cl MS t.
Zip Tools Driver Software Suits
Zip & Jan Drives lit. 99
Amiga Ext. drive £44.99
Amitek 1 ,76Mb drive£69.99
A 1 200/600 int. drive £39.99
A5 00/5 00+lnt. drive £39.99,
Surf Squirrel
■ Hi ifjei il serial port
• SCSI-II iniertac. .
• Auiot™^ ho rron) *£79.99
mjF |"JSSr£99.99
111
Squirrel
» SCSI-II interface '
From only *£45.00.;,J»; , J,^
£54.77 If purchased separately
SupraPAXMBBem Modems
HnHofaotics
Sportster ]fi
• Class I Fax
• Personal Voice Mail
• fax on Demand
■ Call Discrimination
• BABT Approved
• I 4,400 Data/ 1 4,400 Fax ,£85.99
• 33,600 Data/ 1 4,400 Fax £ 161.99
PRIMA
Amiga SurfWare
software pack
Thr complete software suit
for all your Modem needs.
It Net Software •Web Browser
I • E-mail •IBC-Only
I Also Includes:- £29.99
1 30 Days Free Trial with Petti on
IV34+ Fax
Modem
Amazing Price/Performance
• 33.6 Baud Rate* Class I Fax
• BABT & CE approved.
Only...£M9.99
Com plete with cab Ees & Amiga N-comm Softw are
Bargains
V32Bis 14.400 Fax Modem £49.99
V22Bis 2400/9600 Modem £24.99
Amiga SurfWare bundle when'
purchased with anv Modem
GP Fax Software only £44.99
Full Send and Receive Fax Software for Amiga
Computers with a FaxiData Modem.
Modem Accessories
Phone Line Extension Cables...
5M.£6.99 I0M.£8.99 I5M.£I0.99
Dual Socket Adaptor ....£6.99
RAM Expansion/Accelerators
PRIMA
A 1 200 RAM
Expansion
A I 200 I MB RAM £59.99
A I 200 2 MB RAM £64.99
A I 200 4 MB RAM £76.99
AI2008MBRAM £93.99
AI200 IMB/33MhzCo Pro £95.99
AI200 2MB/33MhzCoPro £100.99
AI2004MB/33MhzCoPro £102.99
AI2008MB/33MhzCoPro £120.99
MASSIVE PRICE REDUCTIONS
2Mb72 PinSIMM
4 Mb72PinSIMM
8 Mb 72 Pin SIMM
16Mb 72 pin SIMM
IMb30pinSIMM
256x4 DRAM
£9.99
£15.99
£30.99
£75.99
£10.99
(each)£4.99
C Accelerator Cards )
Viper 11-33 £129.99
Up lo 1 2BMb RAM, FPU socket & R/T Clock
Blizzard 1 230-50Mhz £159.99
Up ba 1 2BMh RAM, F PU Socket & R/T clock
Blizzard 1260-50 £479.99
Up toAJMb RAM, MMU & FPU & RJT Clock
Blizzard SCSI Module£89.99
68882-33Mhz PLCC£34.99
68882-50Mhz PGA £99.99
(A500/600 RAM Expansion)
ABOOSUIcRAMnoclock £19.99
A500+ I Mb RAM £29.99
A600 I MbRAMnodock £29.99
Part exchange available
on your old memory
Canon
Canon BJ30 £159.99
fi.rtililr mr.no printff, H paR* M.f built in-
Canon BJC70C»kiur £1 8S.99
PufCabl* colour piinfrr, 10 [.ij. ASF
Canon, BJI40 £190.99
Ciiiti.irpn.-i.-H-, i j ;.r:;,; L ..
Canon BJC4 I OOCol. £209-99
Hijh quality <BlJf»trmotM>p^ni , riii JtStJpi
Canon BJC420QCot. £254.99
Ntwwr.Hith Photo ftr-ahim tirf. trptiori
Canor>BJC45S0Col. £369.99
Al f l uU f wM i Pholo R. jiiii- i*n. op-ion
Canon BJC620 Cnl«ur£34fl.99
710 ■ TlO ^i.rw^p^r^opiphkctttaJity
EPSON 1
Stytus200 £139.99
UOdpi. I.SpprnBUclc. Colour Upjridrablp.
Stylus 200 Colour £ 1 79.99
-IMpi. J.ippmaiatJiH I ppni Colour.
Stylus 500 Colour £249.99
TIDdp-Mppm Bl*(k.lpp«i Colour.
Stylus Pro £189.99
770.710 Up>. PhQtuftr.1qy.ln f uutpul.
Epson GT-SO0OScanne£329.99
Er.tr T l..rlA.ColurFU|li*d5l.iin.r
Epson GT-8S00 Sent m-£450. 99
Printers
CITIZEN
ABCColourprimer £119.5
Consumables
l i.'t.:..-|.m'H(lsABCi--i..i-;i|!'ir":
C"iit-i jssUi'-Ui'J -' - '^3 'I"" " AuifuJhu
t>«tlrr_ T'lfEDT Ips-d OfiUorul Jt.i ] 4 T>
Citizen Projet lie £164.
!CC . ].:? 6pl, Colo jr Inklcl Prinirr. 70 -.3
AuroSri^rFt-fdpr.HPOeikjptTTiulit
CitiienPrintiva 600c £376
*-.:.:■■ 1 1>, T- ( ' .;,. >;-•- ■' '--!■:• P. ■
iiofJic.esijp-c.iiii.jf.SijcF'irti Mr-ui i
WtiSl HEWLETT
mL'HM PA CKA RD.
HP340ColourPortjblc £179.99
r„:l,., .5..' 4C J, 1C3 ,!(ii. -i.i-o 133.ISJ.ri.it..
HP40DColour £154.99
Fi.-r.ti.rj.r .00 .3 00dpi M.,-,, ^CG.KC dp Col.
HP 690 Colour £249.99
.00. JOOdplt.lourpnnt.r. ni™ *v.n Lit...
HP870Colour £395.99
.OO.SOOilplijplu.plp'fiimDnp. Jplplm.nlou.
HP5LLaserprinter £339.99
4 p/p.'in 600 dpi
HP 6P Laicr printer £569.99
ACCESSORIES
Printer Swirch Box 2 way
Printer Swiuh Box J way
1 .8 Mel re printer cable
3 Metre prinlcrcible
S Hetre printer cable
Q Metrn; printer cable
£12.99
£1?.99
£■4.79
£6.99
£4.99
£12.99
Epson 200 8 Hr. Warranty H4.1*
Epson 500 8 Hr. Warranty £75 99
Epson If on-OnTramfer Paper* I 2.99
Epson 720 dpi Paper Pack £ 1 2.99
Canon T-ShlrtTramferPacU tPOA
Canon BC-06 Photo Cart, £24.99
Canon BC-09 Fluorescent £24.99
ion BC-22 Photo Kit £17.99
Canon BC- 29 Fluorescent £.32.99
Canon Bubble Jet Paper £ I 4.99
HP D| 690 Photo Cartridge £29. M
HP Photography Paper £9.99
HP Banner Paper £9.99
HP Deskjet Paper Pack {500i>£l0.9*
HFPremiurnGlos-.YPaper(IQ)£9.99
Studio 2 New version 2-13
JT iolt wani [0I*( the fr*rl poli'W* nrnjlll
fram your fnlrinr,. p;i 5 toff o/Slutfio".
£49-99 or £44.99 when
ourehavwr with a Printer.
Ribbons
Ci-iien Swrf-JABC mono
Citiit-n Swift. ABC colour
Stat LC90 mono ribbon
Star LCI 0-1 00 mono
St.irLC10n00cr.lnur
SiarLC24Dc colour
StarLCJ4[}cjmono
SijrLC240mono
Star LC24-1 0'200/JOO Coloui
Re-ink Spray for mono ribboi
PREMIER-INK
Cartridge Refills
Ink Cartrtdgosi
£3.99 Canon B| 10/Star Sj4fi
£12 99 Canon B| 200. 2 30
Gift Canon B|30 (3 pack)
[] 1? CanonBjC?Omono(3pick)
(7.9? Canon BJC 70 colour (3 pack)
£ I 3.99 Canon BJC 4000 colour (single)
£3.99 Canon BfC 4000 mono (single)
ff.ff, Canon BJC 4000 mono high cap.
£11.99 Canon BJC o00e mono high cap.
iil.99 Canon BJC iOOecotour
Citi ten Printiva Std. colour*
Citizen Printi-ra Metallic colours
HP. Deikjct IDOB 50Mc.no
HP.De»kjel500/550Colour
■- HP.Dcikjet 660 double mono
" V "£%™1™"L HP.O^kjr! 660 colour
Epson StyJusmono
Epson Stylus colour
Epson Stytws CoLU'S^BlD Mono
Epson Stylus Col, I irS(82D Colour
Star SJ 144 mono/colourtsingle)
Paper
Fanfold (tractorfeed) 500 sheets
Laser Printer Supplies Fanfoid^ractorfcediioaoshcets
Hewlett PackardLaserjetSL £65.99 F.Wol!J{trartorfetHi)i000shrcta
HewlettPackard Laserjet 5P £75.99 Single sheet 500 sheets
Hewlett Packard Lascriet4L £6a.99Sinfilc sheet 1 000 sheets
R Packard L.jet 4-Mf5fM.'N £99.99 Single sheet 2000 sheets
Canon LPB-460Toner £79.99 Epsor.Stylus?20dpi paper pack
Laser iprint-T iMpplics forall niahor H. PackardGlossy Paper I Pack
k n l T.. lI f;,riL, f ,r,..vnl, 1 h1 1 - CM. Hi E hQualitv Inkjet Paoer WQ)
]0aO]C.S(jrSJ4|.C<l
OlhtnV. Fullrinir r,f<olcu
SingSerenili (22ml)
Twin refills (44ml)
Trureecolourkit i66ml)
Fullcolourkit (Saml)
Bulkrertlls (I25ml)
£6 99
£12.99 J
£19,99 J
£27,99 '
£24.99 .
£17.99
£14.99
£12 99
£ I 0.99
£ I 7 , 99
£16.91
£6.99
£l*.tt
£fc.4t
£7.99
£6.49
C36.49
L22.<)<r
£24.99
£11.99
£25.99
£12.99
£27.99
£17,99
tt4.fl
£8.99
£6.99
£12.49
CI 1 .49
£6.99
£ 1 2-49
£21.49
£13.99
£9.99
£10.99
Disks
*t
Bulk DSDD
I0x£3.4v I00x(16.99
30»£9.99 200>£49.99
50x£H,99 500«£1I4.99
Branded DSDD
10 i £4,99 1 no x £4 1. 99
30 x £13.99 200 X £76.99
S0x«l.99 500x£l75.99
Bulk DSHD
10 X £3,99 1 00 x £29.99
30x£l0.99 200XJ5S.99
SO xt 16. 99 500 x £129.99
Branded DSHD
I0x£5.99 1 00 x £44.99
30 x £15.99 200 X £82.99
S0x£23.99 J00x£l89.99
Disk labels xSOO £6.99
Disk labels x 1 000 £9.99
Genlocks
®
uantum
VID I Amiga 24 (RT)+
Colour Real Time
Amiga video
capture system
Cornpoiit. A SVH5 inputv
Tim* L.\pif r.nimr grabbing.
BMftTIFf * PCX File Support.
LoadSavi 14 Bit ILBH & A., inn
£139.99
VIDI Amiga 24 (RT) Pro
Professional Colour
Real Time Amiga
video capture system
• Cumpusitr & SVHS inputs.
• I fi. 7 million colour grabbing.
• BMP.TIFF.PCX.ANIM.ll.BH.
mljols & c'T^tts
£219.99
roP5
(u>
• CLimp^nblc v*irhVH5 S $VHS.
Sj.v & load hi multiple file for
Support for »im«li memory R kkkllarE i. D<
AdchoonaJ teJeeeM faolraei 4 |.j M hfr** memon
L for only..... £ I 29.99J
Music
Technosound
Turbo 2 Pro
8/12 bit Stereo Sampler plus
many more advanced features
A bargain at only*. 17.7/
Mega-Lo-Sound
8 bit dircct-to-disk sampler
Great value only.. J.Z/.77
£639.99
Genlock 292
* Full tiding sJ mitftd graphics
* Fade iq black al oirtput signal
* D*niCMMtritior> 1 off" in Mb
A-Cut
li-p* ntfj rvt p«w*r supply
G raph ICS [Graphics Software
New!! Epson GT-5000
* 3.04 dpH (ffjin:»J icv molultwi
£329.99
Arw[i r ari£i- nT ihhijuiCi^
Tlj Jll, I, ■! 11.11*1 llllipr I..!. I |.jrr J...J 1
H.ii.r. i [..FLil |,irjrid liLlr
Epson GT-8500
£450.99
£99.99
Fusion Genlock
* Lola OK Cn-ltbiV
* CiHTiri jrm&ciliHTlSB
* il\ Amifk *i hif ip)l i r fun* t5
■ n,.3.r>ir.Miijil Pirallrl & "iC£l Intrrlacc
scanners • ii»oup,c.wi PJ i r-wiu*™.
Epson GT-9500
£629.99
■ ii m >Btta«M Nwlil imi
• A4 r-nin-Hi iMM
• Ht-dpl optical «*ii r*M<v
• «|0g,ip.nul|> U1 ..1<,l. J .l U .
*#V"' Only!! £99.99
Entry level Genlock
Hand Scanners
Power Scan v4. £89.99
254 ft'icjle or> AGA Amjis. H Quelle *ion AGA
Power Scan Col. £174.99
24bitenlour itanrior, 14 7 million colours
New
Photogenics 2 CD
Graphics Manipulation
Require* 2chip<-4 fast
RAM minimum,
Hard Disk &
PItoiofie?ric$
CD Rom Dr
K.sr.irt 1.0 o
only!! £89.99
Cinema4DVer 3
£169.99
Amiga Ray-Tracing software
Rcq. 3Mb of RAM, and
Kickstart I or higher.
^ScalaMM400
£279.99
Recommended. 6Mb of
RAM. Kickstart 3.0 or
higher. & Hard Disk.
Special Offers
X-CAD 2000 £19.99
Vista Pro Lite £4.99
Full version, with Manuals.
Blitz Basic 2.1 £29.99
Home Office
ProMIDl
Interface
• MIDI >n. MIDI thru & 1 x MIDI nut
•Compatible »ith all H'lDt software
only!! £19.99
• 2 x 3metre MIDI cables £9.99
AURA 16/8
£74.99/£29.99
Octamed compatible
1 6 or B bic stereo direcc-to-disk
PCMCIA samplers
OctamedSound Studio
L.tril »crsiun of thr bet fJI OO
mink malting program for the Am.j;,.. E.XX.77
Final Writer 5
Word Processor/Publisher
Latent version of this award
winning software
only!! £72.9 9
Final Writer Lite
Requires KJdUtBft 2.04 or above,
2Mb of Ram and I Floppy Drive.
Hard Drive installable if desired.
£39.99
Wordworth 6 CD
• Any Amiga J.-D4 ur higher
• 3Mb of Memory
i "CD Rom MM 1 HDnve.
On Line documentation
Twist 2 £74.99
Relational Database
• Requires Workbench 2.1 or
above A 2Mb of memory
inai Calc £94.99
• Requires Workbench 2.0 or
above, 2Mb of memory min..
H.Disfc with 5Mb of free space
TurboCalc 4 £49.99
£39.99 •
Directory
Opus 5.5 £45.99
OrusS
Wordworth 6 Office CD
Requires Workbench 2.0
or above, and a Hard Drive.
£49.99
Aff] r p Integrated
Willie Packagc
MM* •SprcrdlPitet
• Gi.if lm-.« Disc Unl.ii.-i
£46.99
Final Data £39.99
• Requires Workbench 1.3 or more
I Mb of memory & I floppy drive.
Other Titles Available
Disk Magic 2C34.99
Maxon Magic £26.99
Devpac 3 £63.99
Gamcsmith £79.99
Hisoft BASIC 1 £63.99
HisoftC+ȣM9.99
High Speed Pascal £69.99
Quarterback Disk Suite £34.99
.GB Route Plus & GB Route Edit £29.99
IBrowsc £23.99
Net&Web £29.99
Nec&Web2£66.99
Termite £3 1.99
Termite TCP £47.99
Lightwave3D£429.99
Cables
Amiga-CD32 Serial Network cab. £24
Amiga Parnet PanHd N«wori £ 1 4.99
Modem Cable 9-25/25-25 £9.99
Null Modem Cable £9.99 |
Amiga-VGA Monitor £ 1 2.99
Amiga-TV Cable £2.49 I
Amtga-CM8B33 Monitor £9.99 1
Amiga-Scart Cable £9.99
Printer Cable (1.8 metre) £4.99
Disk Drive/Monitor Ext. £14.99
Analogue PC J.stick Adapt. £7.99
Mouse/Joystick Extension £4.99
Mouse/Joystick Autoswitch £9.99
MIDI Cables (3 metre x2) £9.99
Centronics-Centronics £9.99
SCSI D25-S0 way Cent. £11.99
SCSI D25-50 way Micro-D £ 1 5.99
SCSI Adaptors from.. £15.99
SCSI Terminators from... £ 1 9.99
Internal SCSI Cables from. .£9. 99
2.5" IDE Hard Drive Cable £5.99
Amiga-3.5'" Hard Drive £ 1 9.99
Custom Cable Suppliers
For all your custom cable requirements
just give us a call, we can usually supply
most cables next working day.
Peripherals
Amiga CD ROM's
On«ii UO ni;i cn n crrM anr na
Wizard 560-dpi
Amiga Mouse
£12.49
Alfa Data 400-dpi
Mega Mouse +
£12.99
2ButtonMegaMouse-E£9.99
H
Alfa Data
Crystal Trackball
Only...£34.99
Amiga PSU
£34.99
Mousemat4mm £2.49
Zip Stick joystick £9.99
Gravis Amiga joystick£ 1 9.99
Rob os hiftmousoJjorstick ™itch £9.99
AmigaContolPad £9.99
Kickstart 2.04/2.05 £24.99
CIA8520AI/Ochip £18.99
FPU25mhzPLCC £34.99
FPU33mhzPLCC £39.99
Amiga Modulator
£34.99
Zydec Speakers
ZyFi-2....£26.99
ZyFiPro..£57.99
PRIMA
Heavy Duty
4x Standard PSU Power
flpPsu £69.99
Delivery £1 .SO per title or£3.99 for 4+
Clock Cart. Vista Lite-3
TurboTech
Real-Time
Clock Cartridge
£14.99
Vista Pro Lite
Requires 2Mb of Ram
& Hard Disk With
Kickstart 2.04 or above. |
£9.99
Lirnatpri Offer
IQTB Weird Tearures £ I 3
I7BrtaL5DVol. f £17.
1 7Bit & LSD Vol.l £17.
l7Bh ,-. I SD V. I 117
17Bit Collection £10.
!7Bit Conlinuitian i\*
ITOi: Ph.i,. ■! 16
IJBi! 5th Di.fi.-iiii.gn £17
JOOCIJPEGTc.iurci £11.
3D Imagn/Object. (B
AC* Eifpenerce I NFAt»
AGA Experience 2 NFAI!
AGA Toolkit 97 tl
Amiga Dcv* I open CD : 1 1
Amiga Repair Kit (J9
Amihle-tll £1],
AmiNet 13 £13,
AmilSle-t M £13.
AmiNctlS ill.
AmiNctli £11.
AmiNct 17 (12,
AmiNetSetl £13,
AmiNet5e:t2 £11.
AmiNpcSrtJ £14.
Arcade ClAiiiCi Plus £11.
Artwom iB.
AviwiM.COV,,: 1 (IT,
CMQ«mivIJ ill.
C14Scni.iiiani.vl £14.
CAM £11,
Card Gimt-iCD L\1.
CD-PD I a.
CD-PD3 £S.
CD^PDJ iS.
■C ■ ■"■ i .■ Library it
D*m Horn U%
Demo Collection v | IS .
Emulators Unlimited 11?
Encounter! £12.
tpkColtetlion 1 in.
Epk Int. EncfclDpcdia Hi.
Euro CD vl ill.
El L'CrRliwJrf Hi.
Fractal Univerje £17.
Canwn Delight 3 £11.
GattHMijf It,
GcekGidgeti £17.
GIF Seniaiiantl £17.
Giga Graphici dt.
Q: ■■ : .Vr ■!,-,■. r ■ ; i
Amiga Developers CD Ver I.I L \ 2.99
Th.i CD fomtJir-uJI I he nutrrult nrolnJ Id tiff f1.jp loiimrt
■or thw Ami|i. From AmHyi TfthrviiliJjiiM comet (h» rompltl*
Arp'c* D>vvlcp«ri Tooli and Documentation.
New!' Women of the Web £21.99
Over450Megs of information on over 250 of
the worlds most beautiful women,,
*ContaJns Ho Nudidty*
New!' Geek Gadgets CD £17.99
Geek Gadget* contains all the of the tools you need
to get started programming on tn.fi Amiga
Buy Weird Science Network 2 CD &
CD-32, Serial Network Cable.
Foronly,£35.99
Newr\'.'EPICM/M Encyclopedia £25.99
New.'! Magic Publisher 4 CD set£39.99
Inc. Wordworth 4 TD, Final Writer 4 SE t
1 0,000 Fonts and 5,000 Clips and more.
Sounds Terrific 2 & Octamed 6
Two terrific titles bundled togetherto
purfectly compliment each other
Both titles far only..,.,, £ I 8.99
Octamed Sounds Studio CD £22.99
Totally revamped new version of this top selling
CD, includes endlest new and improved featurev
New.'.' AmiNet 1 7-NowAvaiUble £ 1 2.99
Scoop Purchase .'.' 1 nsight Dinosaurs
Designed for the CD32/CD-TV but usable
on any Amiga with CD. Now Only £4.99
Ideal XmasGiftI!
Guinness Disc of Records £17.99
CD Version of the ever-popular fact filled
book.
GrxphiciSemationi I £I7.y9
Guinncii D sc of Recordi£ 1 7.fv |
Horror Stniationi (lt)H7.99
ilD
£17.99
£1.14
tlJ.1*
£17.99
£4.99
£14.99
£17.99
£]?.99
£1.99
£s.99
Tmage PD CD
In ts-f he-Net
Snii jjht Dinouuri
Learnirg Curve
Light ROM-*
Light ROM Gold
Magic Publisher
Magic WB Enhancer
Meetlnj Peartu v4
Movie Maker Special FWI T,99
Multimedia Toolkit l+2iiT, 99
Mulumedta Backdropv ( I ' v v
NelvorkCDl £11.99
Nothing but GIFi AGA£ 17.0?
Nothing but Tetrti £9.99
Qet;irtwl4*SoondtTerr.E{T„¥9 J
Octamed Sound StudoOtW
Oh Yes More Warms £8.9?
Photogenic* 1 £69. ?9
£999
£17.19
ilT.99
£IT,99
Pov-Ra/
Prima 5h;
RelruGoldCD
Scene Storm
Sct-Fi Sensation 1
Sound FX Srm.it ion £.1 3.99
Sound Library ilT.99
Sds. Tcmf3/Octamedrk.n.99
Source Code £17.99
Space* Aitronomy ilE-??
SpetalFXVo].! £tT.99
Syttem Booster £11.99
The Spectrum CD 94 £14 99
The Pertonit Suite IlT.99
Uiilitjeil (POSoh) £17.99
Utilities Experience £ 1 1.99
Weird St. AMOS PD £1 fi.tt
Weird Sc. Animations lb. 99
Weird 5c Clip Art iB.99
Weird Sc.UPD Gold £17.99
Women Of The Web £30.99
Workbench Add-Oni £3B.99
World Altai £24.*?
World Info 95 £I7.»9
Women of the Web
FREE!! Prima Shareware CD-ROM worth £ I with every order
in if*
QuikPak replies...
Ohis month Amiga Computing undertook a huge survey oi the Amiga com
munity (see cover story page 2T). The aim was to determine what
support is left for the machine and the direction the platform
should go in 1997. We took our results to QuikPak - front-run-
ner to buy Amiga - to see what they thought-
Dan Robinson, the Amiga Development Manager, agreed
with the majority of survey respondents who said the Amiga
urgently needs an improved OS with better Internet/network
support, plus improved graphical and audio facilities.
QuikPak also realises the importance of a move to faster
processing speeds (probably using DEC Alpha chips), but its
specific development plans will only be announced when
the company's bid is accepted. Hopefully, this will be con-
cluded in the very near future.
The Canadian-based company is also starting to work more
closely with the Amiga business community than Escom or
Commodore managed - an issue our respondents thought was
important. It has also set aside a substantial advertising budget, according
to Robinson
machines instead of the Video Professional market.
"The Video market is currently providing the only purchasers of A4000TS
that is why we devote so much development to them," said
Robinson. "The Al 200 Escom brought back was a huge mistake.
1992 systems re-introduced at ridiculous prices,..hey, I'm a
fanatic and even I wouldn't pay a thousand Canadian dollars
for a computer I purchased for 599 dollars in the spring of
1994. We do have an entry level system ready to go, but the
big question is, will anyone buy one?"
The demands for all-powerful Amigas at ever cheaper
prices do not impress Robinson either.
"Cheap, cheap, cheap„.to these people who whine about
cheap PC IBM clones, I say so buy one and shut the f**k up,"
Robinson said. "The Amiga in my opinion has value. An
A4000t at SI 997.00 US with 16 Mb of Ram, a CD-ROM drive,
SC5I II HD, a software bundle and all the wonderful capabilities
it delivers, is good value. This is a true pre-emptive multitasking com-
puter with unmatched video poteniial with a recognised name brand! "
See our main feature to see °- uikPak ho P es t0 have g ood news for tne Ami S a ty the time this
QuikPak does not, however, seem to agree with the numerous wnat the world-wide Amiga issue hits the shelves. Rest assured, we'll keep you up to date with
companies that said it should concentrate on cheap, entry level community really thinks... the latest developments.
□
MIGA SHOW RETURNS
The World of Amiga UK Show returns this year and promises to be even more suc-
cessful than last year's exhibition. The two day show will be held at the Novotel
Exhibition Centre in Hammersmith, London, on Saturday 17 and Sunday 18 May.
The exhibition will be a showcase for all the latest developments in Amiga
technology, with products from a wide range of German and British manufactur-
ers on display.
Judging by the fact there have
been even more Amiga related
hardware and software develop-
ments this year than tast, the show
should be a runaway success.
Admission prices are £8 for adults
and £6 for children.
A show of this calibre is exactly
what the Amiga community needs, even ^Mj j;
more so now than last year. With all the
uncertainty over the platform, it will show that, as
always, Amiga users and developers are still fighting on to keep the machine alive.
Last year's World Of
Amiga show was a
great success
Amiga Computing
MARCH 1997
Qnternet on the up
Online Information 96 took place at Olympia recently and attracted 22 per cent more people
than last year's event. As the world's largest exhibition and conference for the on-line informa-
tion industry, it showed the industry was growing and it has already sold 70 per cent of space
for next year's show.
Showing that '96 was a positive year for on-line developments, Demon Internet announced
1996 was its most successful year to date. Cliff Stanford, Demon internet founder and manag-
ing director said, "Our aim in 1996 was to ensure that Demon Internet customers had the best
possible service and to make their access to the Internet as simple as possible." Demon gave
users extras such as homepages and a free 5mb virtual Web server. It predicts, though, that 1997
will be even bigger.
On the other hand however, results published by Key Note say that although the Internet is
transforming the workplace, the Internet revolution is still being snubbed by home users in the
UK. In 1996 only 3 per cent of homes were connected to the Internet compared to 14 per cent
of American homes - showing the UK is way behind in terms of accepting the net.
It predicts that this will change and rise to 4 percent by the end of next year and 12 per cent
by the year 2000. In terms of actual homes connected, this means that the 900,000 users in
1997 will rise to 2,600,000 by the end of the century.
EJASTER VISION
liyama has announced a new 15" monitor which
supersedes the current model, the Vision Master 15. ]
The new mode!, the Vision Master 350 will cost £260
and comes with a three year warranty. New features
include 0.28mm dot pitch flat square tube, a 350mm
diagonal viewable screen with non-glare and anti-
static coating, 29-69KHZ horizontal and 50-160Hz
vertical scanning frequencies, and push button digital
user controls.
□
MIGA FOUNDATION NETWORK
A new enterprise has been set up in
Norway to collate as much data as possible
on all things Amiga. Jon Lennart Berg wants
to set up an Internet based service for
Amiga users all over the world. He told
Amiga Computing why he wants to set up
such a service.
"Ever since the death of Commodore, the
voice of the Amiga community across the
world has been a silent one. It is under-
standable developers are keeping their dis-
tance because the backbone we called
Commodore, is no longer there to keep
them updated with vital information -
information about the common hardware
setup, general interest and total market
demand. And by all means, companies
should not be expected to obtain such
information themselves."
His scheme sounds ambitious, "The list
of services such a network could do is end-
less. My first goal is an on-line information
service, providing world-wide overview of
all things Amiga related, including market
demand for specific software.
Also, user-groups and retailers that are
giving their support should be represented,
and the list updated. But most importantly,
a full scale hardware/software report, this
will be the most important service the net-
work will supply."
His intentions are then to target compa-
nies to get them to port software onto the
Amiga - he even hopes to get Warcraft-ll
onto the Amiga. He also hopes to address
the issue of piracy.
For more information write to:
The Amiga Foundation NetWork
Jon Lennart Berg
BlvingeVn. 19
N-3173 Vear
Norway
Membership Fee is : 25-Nkr, 2 English
pounds, or 5 US dollars.
DISTRIBUTED
Fl Software/Licenceware has said that it
is interested in hearing from program-
mers of high quality Amiga software who
would like to have their programs dis-
tributed via the Fl Licenceware scheme.
Fl had to put a hold on taking on
any new titles over the past three
months due to technical difficulties, but
it claims this is all sorted out and Fl is
ready to push ahead and add to the
existing 150 exclusive titles currently in
its catalogue.
For more details contact Steve Bye
at Fl Software, 31. Wellington Rd,
Exeter, Devon. EX2-9DU. Or, for a
faster response, e-mail Steve at
steve £>f I lw.demon.co.uk.
Chart Time
Cn have released its December Charts which
reveal that Turbo Print Pro! 5.0 is still at number
one lor Amiga Productivity, Amine! 16 is also
still at number one in ihe CD charts and Hugo
tops the bill (or Amiga games, followed closely
by SWOS and Capital Punishment
Newbies Step
Foreword
If you live in the Huddersfield area and want to
know how to get more from your Amiga, you
may like to pop along to the Huddersfield
Amiga User Croup, Meetings are held fortnight-
ly and topics include DTP, graphics, Comms and
Wardprocessing, as well as how to get your
Amiga connected to the Internet Phone Geoff
(01484 543534), Tony (01484 460883) or
Robert (01484 654291) for more details.
AmigaPhile
pressies
For the Amiga Fanatic in your life, you may be
interested in the Amiga Atlanta 10th anniver-
sary video. The two hour + video includes the
evenings events and speakers and is available
in either tJTSC or PAL standards, with discounts
available for other Amiga usergroups that
would like to arrange a group purchase for
their members.
Shoppers
frustration
Isn't it the most annoying feeling when you've
just bought something only to find it available
five pounds cheaper down the road? A new UK
only Web site has been set up to remove this
annoyance for those looking for a computer-
related bargain. It has over 1000 computer
products listed and where they can be bought
from at the best price. Simply type in
www.streetprice.com
Stop press!
With events moving so fast in the Amiga world
at the moment, it's hard to give you up-to-the-
minute news in a monthly magazine. However,
we aim to keep you informed on a weekly
basis through our Internet site. This ensures
you bear the news as soon as we do - the
minute a story breaks we will post it on the site.
At the time of writing this issue, no deal to buy
Amiga Technologies had been completed.
Please follow the News link from our main
home page (http://www.acomp.demonxo.uk/)
«*i,mjihi;m
MARCH 1997
G3
O NEW OWNER
YET
At the time of writing, the Amiga still doesn't have a
new owner. Negotiations are ongoing and it appears
QuikPak continues to be a front-runner. However, as
Dan Robinson told us, QuikPak's patience is also run-
ning out. "The deal will close sometime this
month...preferably this week...it better or we plan to
withdraw our offer and get on with other core busi-
ness." He continued, 'The Amiga market is dying a
slow death and six more months of negotiations will
benefit no one. Hopefully Mr. Hehmbach will realise
this at some point."
The value of Amiga Technologies has also been
thrown into question. Mr Robinson said, "In our
opinion the assets, technology etc. are not worth the
20 Million he seems to be holding out for. They may
have been (and I mean maybe) last year when
Viscorp made its initial offer...but that was last year."
QuikPak are looking to its future plans whatever
happens and revealed, "We have some exciting plans
for the Amiga computer should we be successful in
our attempt to either acquire AT, or the parts we are
interested in - namely an exclusive right to the
Amiga Computer. We are not interested in the set-
top market and tried to co-operate with Viscorp ( Bill
Buck ) for months."
Robinson continued, "The Liquidator knows our
top offer, if there is someone lurking around with
more cash than us then I guess they will emerge with
the technology. That said, they will still have to deal
with us. We do have all the chips and the capacity to
make more, not to mention a very large claim as a
secured creditor,"
I
EW FROM
HAAGE
Haage and Partner has announced that ft is
currently developing a new Word Processor
called Easy Writer. Details are brief at the
moment but Haage says that it will especially
fit the needs of students and business people
Plug-Ins for Art Effect 1.5 are also now avail-
able. Some can be downloaded from the Web
site - such as ScanQuix 3 and Toolbox Icons.
You can also buy two packages both priced at
S45 US. One is called PowerEffects and lets
you add effects such as Page Curl to curl up a
corner of the page, or Wave to create wave
effects. Also included are the colour effects like
Lightchange, Alien and Prism.
The other, called SuperVlew, lets Art Effect
read 32 and write 20 additional file formats.
One in particular, is the ability to read the
PhotoCD format.
diJI 25%
Color
♦ |
Foreground color
Curl Opacity
■| 1 000
Shading
Background
±1
Use background color
Corner
£1
Lower right corner
Ausfuhren
New Ptug-Ins are now
available tor Art Effect 1.S
E
N
it's
WAY
We would like to apologies to anyone who
is waiting for their 10 Out of 10 Essential IT
product. The orders are currently being
processed and will be with you very soon.
0PEEDY SOLUTIONS
US Robotics has announced
release of a new modem which
is upgradeable to the high
speed X2 56Kbps techno!
ogy. X2 technology
allows Internet con-
nection at twice the
speed available over
standard telephone
lines.
Priced at £229,
the Sportster Flash
has flash memory and
owners can register for
the X2 upgrade which
they can get free of charge
from the company's bulletin
board. Flash memory also allows for
any future upgrades to new technology.
The new Sportster Flash
Modem from US Robotics
Amiga Computing
MARCH 1 997
Amiga Mice
Replacement Mice £6.95
MegaMouse 400 £9.95
MegaMousc Plus (3 Button) £10.95
Optical Mouse £29.95
New Golden Image
TrackBall £19.95
Pen Mouse £12.95
(ideal for CAD)
Ram Boards
Floppy Drives
A500 512K Ram Board w/o clock ...£15.00
A500+ 1Mb Ram Board w/o clock... £20. 00
A600 1Mb Ram Board w/o clock ...£20.00
A600 1Mb Ram Board with clock ...£30.00
A1200 4Mb Ram Board with clock... £49. 00
A1200 8Mb Rim Board with clock... £65. 00
FPU 33MHz £20.00
AlfaPowcr Hard Drive controller A500 . . .£99
AT-Bus Hard Drive controller A2000 £69
Oktagon 2008 SCSI controller £99
Multtface III £79
PCMCIA Controller for CDRom for A1200 £69
Controllers
Iflfl^
NEW MULTI I/O CARD
FOR AMIGA 1500/2000/4000
Active 8 port high speed serial card.
Multiboard Support 57600 Baud rate on all
channels simultaneously _£299
New AlfaQuatro
Specially made hardware and software. Allows
4 ATAPI devices, ie, 2 IDE hard disk & 2 IDE
CD Rom to Amiga 4000 internal IDE
controller, through Altapovver on Amiga
500/500+ and possibly Amiga 1200 comes,
with full IDE Fix software £59
Joysticks & Joypads
Amiga Joysticks .£9.95
Amiga Joypads £9.95
Speakers
External Floppy Drive
tor all Amigas £39.95
Internal Floppy Drive
A500/500+..'. £35.00
Internal Floppy Drive A600/1200+
A-Grade Double Density box of 50 disks
intluMtU} colourful labels
IDE Hard Drives
^^223
...£35.00
...£13.00
Multi Media Speakers
100 watt (pmpo) £30.00
Multi Media Speakers
240 watt (pmpo) £45,00
Multi Media Speakers
300 watt (pmpo)* ...£59.95 Contoured Wrist Tad £3.00
* 3D surround sound
['lain Wristrest £2.00
CD Cleaners - 1/2 price
CD Rom Cleaner £3.00
Automatic CD Rom Cleaner (imtarypmrnd) ...£10.00
Laser Lens Cleaner £4.50
£129
HARD DRIVES + AT-BUS CONTROLLER FOR
AMIGA SOO(+)/A1500/A2000/A3000/A4000
AT- Bus hard drive controller £69.00
Alfapower hard drive controller £99.00
Alfapower-640 640Mb MlMftifi ^
hard drive £199.00 BBETObSV
Alfapower- 1.2G 1.2Gig ."^
hard drive £259.00 ^^ ' ^^fwgyg^
Other sizes please rinjj
Memory for Alfapower- Plus (new)
marked Alfapower-Plus
4Mb SIMMS £20.00
8MB SIMMS £30.00
16MB SIMMS £79.00
Memory for Alfapower (old)
Every 2Mb Zip-Rams £89.95
FOR AMIGA 600/1200
IDE-170 170Mb hard drive £79
IDE-250 250Mb hard drive £99
IDE-420 420Mb hard drive £120
IDE-540 540Mb hard drive £130
IDE 3.5" Hard Drives
FOR AMIGA 1200/4000
IDE-640 640Mb hard drive £99
IDE-840 840Mb hard drive £125
IDE-LOG LOGig hard drive £175
IDE-1.2G 1.2Gig hard drive £165
IDE-1.7G 1.7Gig hard drive £179
LDE-2.5G 2.5Gig hard drive £239
Miscellaneous Products
DO floppy disks (50)
inclndiutj multicitiaiired disk labels , , £-1 .UU
DD (loppy disks (100)
i/idudiiiji niutlkolvuTid diik labels £25*00
3.5" Hard Drive Kit for A600/1200
t butoM software .£1 5.00
Colourful Mouse Mat
Animal Jungle design and Dinosaur design ...£5.00
Optical Mouse Mat £5 .00
2 in 1 Scanner/Mouse Pad
Can bf utcd its a memo pad £t!.00
Quad Speed CD Rom for A500
I needs Alfapower V6.8 or higher |
Quad Speed CD Rom for A600/A1200 £149
(inc CD32 emulation)
Quad Speed CD Rom
fbrA1500/A2000/
A4000 £109
Special Offer
is Month
IWI LUJ
640Mb 3.5"
Hard Drive £S
1.2Gig 3.5"
Hard Drive .£165
1.7Gig 3.5"
Hard Drive £179
2.5Gig 3.5"
Hard Drive £239
170Mb 2.5"
Hard Drive £79
420Mb 2.5"
Hard Drive £120
A1200 4Mb
Ram Board with clock ....£49
A1200 8Mb
Rani Board with clock £65
Greyscale Scanner from £79
Greyscale Scanner with OCR
limited stocks £99
UY
8 Speed CD Rom ~£169
1230 33MHz £199
4Mb Apollo
1220 25MHz with FPU £79
Accelerator Boards
AI 220 APOLLO
Accelerator Board £99.95
Al 220 APOLLO
Accelerator Board + 4Mb
New Low Price £79.00
A1230 VIPER
Accelerator Board 3 3 M H z £119.95
A1230 VIPER
Accelerator Board + 4Mb 33MHz ...£169.95
A1230 VIPER
Accelerator Board + 8Mb 33MHz ...£180.00
All prices include VAT. Please add £3.50 P&P for items under £30.00, £5.00 for items over £30.00,
£8.00 P&P for Scanners, Speakers & Hard Drives, £10.00 courier for next day. Tax Free Export Orders Welcome.
Gokien Image accepts Access, Visa, Cheques & Postal Orders. H&OK. Prices subject ro change without notice. Goods subject to availability. .Specifications subject to change without notice,
Goldenlmage (UK) Ltd
Unit 65, Hallmark Trading Estate, Fourth Way. Wembley, Middx IIA9 OLB
Sales Hotline No: 0181 900 9291 Fax: oisi 900 9281
http://www.reserve.co.uk/gold Talking Pages: 0800 6 00 9 00
US bargain bin
^^^ ue to the success of its holiday sale, Intangible Assets Manufacturing has announced it
ij mill continue to sell at the lowered prices permanently. One exception to this plan is
■*™ the DiskSalv4/MRBackup bundle, which has been reduced in price further to S49US.
Also, 1AM regrets that the Deathbed Vigil video and t-shirts have been sold out.
However, Dale Larson, el Presidente of 1AM (yes, that is his title), has searched for and found
more of the Boing Ball logos that he had been including with orders over the holidays. They
will continue to be shipped with any order made directly with 1AM, until the new stock is
exhausted. There is estimated to be a two-month supply. The exact logos that will be sent are:
Square Boing Ball logo, a rectangular Boing Ball logo with the word "Amiga" and a rectangular
rainbow checkmark logo with the word "Amiga". All logos are made of metal.
In another promotion, 1AM is offering a second Annual Amiga Developers Conference poster
to customers ordering more than S100US in merchandise directly. There are over a dozen of
these posters to give away.
Qmiga Zone extended
The Amiga Zone, an on-line resource for Amiga users since 1985, has announced an addi-
tional method to access its system. There is now a World Wide Web interface for the
AmigaZone SiG. Membership in AmigaZone is still required to access these files and mes-
sages, however. The site is located at http://amigazone.com/.
In order to use the "chat" function from the Web site, you must use the Wildcat Navigator,
which can be found at http://www.mustang.com/. The AmigaZone is still telnettable at the
normal address of amigazone.com and will still be based on the Wildcat BBS software.
Two types of accounts are currently available. The first is a free two-week trial account with
several limitations. The second is the full account, costing 519.95US per month, with unlim-
ited access to the Amiga Zone, including the file library. Call 916-641-9320 for details of both
and tell them the Amiga Zone sent you. For more information about the new interface or the
Amiga Zone, visit the other Web site at http://vrtvw.amigazone.com/.
QuikPak Announce
QuikPak, the manufacturer of the Amiga 4000T, has
posted an open letter to the Amiga com-
munity. In the letter, QuikPak details
instances of its loyalty to the
Amiga platform and Amiga
users. The company then
states that since there
seems to be no progress in a
deal between Amiga
Technologies and vTScorp,
that it, as an Amiga
Technologies creditor, has
made an offer to the bankruptcy
trustee of AT.
Despite the fact it have not yet
received a response, QuikPak
expects the negotiations with the
trustee to proceed quickly. QuikPak
goes on to state that it would appreciate
input from the various aspects of the Amiga
community, including users, dealers, develop-
ers, distributors and other manufacturers. The
letter is signed by Dave Ziembicki, CEO. Any
inquiries/comments should be sent to Dan Robinson,
Director of Business Development of Amiga
Computers. He can be reached via e-mail at quik-
pak@ix.netcom.com and other contact information can
be found at http://www.amigasupport.com/quikpak/.
In other news, QuikPak has announced pricing and
configurations for the "luggable" Amiga 4000. All mod-
els will include 2 megs of chip RAM, 16 megs of fast
RAM, 2 gig hard drive, 6x CD-ROM with pre-installed
AsimCDFS and a high resolution LCD display.
Two of the models have the 6B040 25mhz proces-
by Katherine Nelson
I
IDEO
PROMOTION
a'
sor. The first has a manu-
facturer's suggested retail price of
S4495US. The second also includes the NewTek
Video Toaster and Video Toaster Flyer and has an MSRP
of S9495US. The remaining two models have the
68060 50mhz processor. The first of these has an
MSRP of S4995US. The second also includes the Video
Toaster and Video Toaster Flyer, and has an MSRP of
S9995US.
There is no pricing information available for the
other new QuikPak machine, the A5050T, which fea-
tures a Pentium and an Amiga built into one comput-
er. Also, there is an entry on the Web site for a com-
puter model called the A1630LD, listed as coming
soon. No other information was available and Dave
Ziembicki would not comment.
Nova Design has acquired a new video
which will demonstrate some of the capa-
bilities of its ImageFX and Aladdin4D soft-
ware. The tape is about
nine minutes long and fea-
tures music from Thomas
Krehbiet of Nova Design.
All editing and effects were
done on Amiga or Draco
systems. Contact Nova
Design for information on
obtaining this new video at 804-282-1 157.
The video was created/produced by a
Chicago-based company known as The
Vantage Point, with the talents of lead artist
Bohus Blahut. For other video work utilis-
ing the Amiga, call The Vantage Point at
773-465-5158, or send e-mail to
bohus@xnet.com.
Contact point
Intangible Assets Manufacturing
828 Ormond Avenue
Drexel Hill, PA 19026-1604 USA
voice: 61 0-853-4406
fax: 610-853-3733
e-mail: info .: iam.com
sales@iam.com
www: http://www.iam.com/
The Amiga Zone
ftp: amigaione.com
telnet: amigaione.com
www: http://www.amigazone.com/
QuikPak Corporation
phone: 888-784-5725
fax: 610-666-8086
e-mail: quikpak@ix.netcom.com
www: http://www.amigasupport.com/
quikpak/
Nova Design, Inc.
1910 Byrd Ave., Suite 214
Richmond, VA 23230 USA
Orders: 804-282-1157
Fax: 804-282-3768 BBS: 804-965-0234
The Vantage Point
Bohus Blahut - Modem Filmmaker
phone: 773-465-5158
e-mail: bohus -. xnet.com
Amiga Computing
MARCH 1997
IN fill!
PLACEMENT CHIPS AM) SYSTEM UPGRADES Paxil on
rtLVtrOlt is North America's largest wholesale supplier of Amiga replacement and upgrade chips
REPLACEMENT & UPGRADE CHIPS
(Factory New) PRICE
1.3 ROM O/S S12.50
2.04 ROM CVS S19.95
2.05 ROM (V37.3501 (A500 & A20CO) $19.95
2,04 ROM A3000 (Sel ol 2 Rom 0'1) S34.50
2.1 Workbench for floppy users {complete Q.'S
without support file) S7.95
3.1 ROM (A500/A20DO) S49.95
3.1 ROM (A3000/A40QO) S62.50
3.1 ROM(A1200) S62.50
3.1 ROM(S) Software/Manual S124.00/S137.50
ROM Switcr>'Swilch-ltt with speaker S17.50
3.1 manual only S69.95
3.1 Software S10.00
3.1 Workbench for floppy users (complele
O/S without support file) S7.95
A2091 7,0 ROM Upgrade $19.95
A2620/30 7.0 ROM Upgrade S19.95
6520 CIA S11.95
B372A/8375 Agnus wilh diagnostic disk/guide.. ..S29.95
8375-B (2MB) (A3000) 318069-03 S25.50
8375-10 Agnus (318069-10) PAL S17.95
8375-18 Agnus (318069-18) 2 meg PAL ,515.95
Paula (8364] A500/A2000 S10.95
Denise (8362) A500/A2000 S10.95
Super Denise 8373 w/diagnostic disk S19.95
Gary 5719 A500HA2000 S10.95
Busier 5721 (A2000) $16.95
68000-BMHz CPU (DIP) S11.50
68003-16MHJ CPU (DIP) S22.50
68030-RC50 PGA $84.50
68882-25 PGA $24,95
Western Digital SCSI cnip 8A S27.50
Video Hybrid - (A500 390229-03) S9.95
GVP Upgrade Chip Series II $29.95
SURFACE MOUNTED DEVICES
(For A1200. A3Q00. A4000, CD32)
3520 PLCC (391078-02) $19.50
Amber (390538-03) S24.50
DMAC 4(390537-04) S34.50
Lisa 1391227-01) S24.S0
Ramsey (rev. 4) 350544-04 S19.95
Ramsey (rev. 7) 390541-07 $36.50
Alice 8374 (391010-01) S25.50
Gal(XU9) (390123-01)) S21.95
Gayle (31 5107-02) $19.95
Budge (39 1425-01) $33,95
Super Denise '391554-0") S25.95
Paula 8364 (391017-01; $27.95
Gary (390540-02) $32.95
Super Busier Rev. 11 (390539-11) $34.50
Bridgette (391 380-01) $29.50
Video DAC (391422-01) $19.95
6B000CPU (390084-07) S13.95
68020-16(391506-01) S18.55
MC 68BB2RC25A PGA New (390434-01) $19.95
MC68882RC20APGA S30.00
MC 68B82RC33A PGA S37.50
XC 68882RC40A PGA S69.9S
MC 68030FE25B QFP (390399-05) $19.95
MC 68030RC50 PGA $79.95
MOTHERBOARDS (Factory New)
CD32 (no RAM memory) NTSC S89.95
CD32 complete with RAMilesled NTSC S109.95
CD32 complete with RAM/tested (PAL) S89.95
CD32 replacement CD mechanism S39.95
A500 (rev. 3) inc all chips 539.95
A500 (Rbv. 5/6) $83 50
A600 $13400
AI200 INTSC) LimHed quantity 3.0 O/S all mewry New $300.00
A1200 |PAL) Limited quantity 10 0.5 all memory Kew...$300.00
A2000 LATE Rev. 8372/2.05 S399.95
A3000 (16MHz)... , .S264.50
A3000 (25MHz) $294.50
A3000T (Tower) 25MHz S389.95
C64 (refurbished, tested all chips) $29.95
C64 untested, alt chips clearance 2/S25.00
AMIGA FLOPPY DRIVES (Factory New)
High Dens. External floppy lor all Amigas S114.95
High Density Internal Floppy Drive:
A4000 S104.95
A2000 $109.50
A500h:e-na seok $38.95
A600/1 203 Infernal 547.50
A2000 l.-.teria- 683i $39,95
A3000 ntttnal 890< , $49.95
A4000 rler-ial 890< $49.95
CD32 Replacement CD mechanism $39.95
1541 (returoisneo) $39.95
1571 (limited quantity) 349,95
POWER SUPPLIES (Factory New)
A50O $38.95
A50O/A600/A120OEig Fl. (200 Watt! Micro WD 579.96
A500 power supply (used) 220 volts Europe $19.95
A590 $19.95
A1200 110 volls original factory $38.95
CD32 Original / Factory (110 volls) S21.95
CD32 Original / Factory (220 volls) 314,95
CD32 Big Foot (200 Wall) Micro R/D $74,50
A2000 1107220V, internal original S89.95
A200DBig Fool (300 Wall) Micro R/D S144.50
A 300D interna! (110/220 volls) $110.00
A30DO Big Fool (250 walls) Micro R'D $144.50
A300O Tower $124.00
A40O0 interna! [110 voile) $119.00
A4000 int. 300 Wall Big Fool (exchange) $169.95
1084S Phillips Flyback Transformer only $35.95
1 084-D1 Ptiillips/Daewoo Flyback only $38.50
1 0B4-D2 Daewoo Flyback Transformer only $38.50
10B4S new Motherboard'Flyback see below
10S4S power supply board (refurbished) 529.95
CG4 nonrepayable $14.95
C54 repairable $19.95
C64 5.2 amp Heavy Dutv (also 1760 REU) S39.95
C65 110 Volt $21.95
C128 external 5,2 amps S39.95
154! 11/1581 S7.5Q
KEYBOARDS (Factory New)
A500 (limiled quantity) $39.95
A600 $26,50
C128D (limited quanlity) $24.95
A1200 $34.95
A2000 US version (Amiga Technologies) $74.50
A3000 US version (Amiga Technologies) $74.50
A4000 US version (Amiga Technologies),. ,,$74,50
A2000 keyboard adapter to A4000 $8.95
ADD ON BOARDS (Factory New)
6802O-O30 (A4000) $67.95
A2058(8K) (A2000) Expansion board 8K S69.95
A50I original Ram Exp. - 512K (A500) S17.95
Wicroway Flickerfixer $224.00
Slingshot Pro/pass Ihru (Micro R/D) $37.60
AI050 RAM Expander (A1000) 256K $10,95
APOLLO ACCELERATORS
1230 Lie 25MHz 68030 W.SMhFPU to A12C0 computers $144.95
1230/SOMHz 68030 for A1200 computers $23900
1240/25MHZ 68040 for A1200 computers $369 .95
1240/40MHZ 6804Q for A1200 computers S459.95
1260/50MHZ 63050 lor A1200 computers S729.95
1 MO SCSI Module for Apcllo A 1 200 accelerators S129.00
2030/25MHZ 68030*68B82tSCSI-2 for A2000 S299.95
2030/5OMHZ 5S03O-68832-SCSI-2 for A2000S3B9.95
2040/25MHZ 68040-SCSI-2 for A2000 S449.00
2040/40MHZ 68040+SCSI-2 for A2000 $529.00
2060/SOMHz 68060 T SCSI-2 for A2000 3849-95
3OSO/50MHZ 5B060tSCSI-2 for A3000 Desktop .SB29.95
3040/40MHZ 6B040tSCSI-2 for A3000 Desktop .$559.95
4040J40MHZ 68W0.SCS1-2 for A3000T & A4000(T) S559.95
40ffl,50MHz E8TO-SCS1-2 for A3000T S A4000(T) $819.95
Mini Meg 2Mb Chip RAM Board $185.00
SX32 $299.00
PHASE 5 ACCELERATORS
Blizzard 1250 Turbo Board $749.95
Blizzard 1230-IV Turbo Board S269.95
Optional Blizzard 1260 or 1230-IV SCSI Kit $169,95
Blizzard 2050 Turbo Board $849.95
Cyberslorm Mark II 050/50MHz 3849.95
Cyberslorm Fast SCSI-2 Module $179.95
CyberVision S4/3D 2Mb Call
CyberVision 64/3D 4Mb $389.95
CyberVision 64/3D MPEG Module Call
CyberVision 64/3D Scan Doubler/Momlor Switch. ..Call
CyberGraphX Software $49.95
MOUSE CONTROLLERS (Factory New)
Amiga 1352 $22.50
Wizard 3-bulton (for all Airigas) $22.95
A4000 326.85
Amiga CDTV $15.95
Amiga A1200 mouse port reptacemenl kil $7,95
CD32 controller $11.75
DIAGNOSTICS
Advanced Am.ga Analyzer (see betas) S59.95
Final Test diagnostic disk by Amiga 57.95
Amiga Trouoleshooting Guide $7.95
Commodore Diagnostician II „ $6.95
Service Manuals SEE BELOW
CLEARANCE SALE
A5Q0 Computer (NTSC) wilh P/S S119.95
A520 (New) Video Modulator Adaptor $12.50
2.04/3.1 ROM Swifch - (Switch Itt) wilh speaker...S 17.50
15-23 pin adapter cable S19.95
Monitor Cables - 30 Different types CALL
Monitors; 1084S. 1802, etc SEE BELOW
Laser printer memory board 0K (At HP units) $24.95
Sony QD6150 data cartridge $7.50
Joystick - Captain Grant (for all Amigas) S2.99
• ONLY AT PAXTRON •
• A3000 COMPUTER KIT (NTSC) NEW: Put together your own computer. Kit
includes new A3000 motherboard, daughter board, A3000 power supply and
4 megs ot ZIP memory (16MHz or 25MHz units available) CALL FOR
PRICES
• A520 Video Modulator Adapter Kit with cables and instructions (NTSC).
Run any Amiga on your television S10.50
• AMIGA COMPATIBLE KEYBOARDS - KB100 is a sophisticated in-line
adapter box for use with IBM keyboards. Use the KB100 on your
A500/A2000/A3000/ A4000. (A600/A1200 require soldering.) S49.95
• Complete service manuals. Some manuais may be photocopied. 5 day
delivery on some manuals. A500, A500+, 590, A1000, 1230 printer, 1802,
1902, 1902A, 1934, 2002, 2091, 2300, 2630, CDTV, 1581, C65 S19.95
A500 schematics, A6O0, 1084S, 1084S-D1, 1084ST, 1936A, 1960, A2000S24.00
A1200, A3000, A3000T, A4000, CD32 S39.95
• 1084S MONITOR MOTHERBOARD WITH BUILT IN FLYBACK TRANS-
FORMER - This new board will cure 90 percent of 1084S monitor prob-
lems. Simply switch the motherboard and your monitor problems are
solved! This motherboard with the flyback factory mounted is the exact
replacement and works with 1084S models only. It's easy to install .S69.95
• AMIGA MONITORS - We have a large supply of refurbished 1084(S),
1902, 1930, 1802, 1702 monitors, etc. For example, the 1084(S) isS169.95
with cable. 90 day warranty CALL
• SUPERGEN (Internal Genlock) for A2000 - By Progressive Image
Tech/Digital Creations. Most flexible Genlock and video overlay device for
all Amigas. Supergen provides a flexible broadcast quality Genlock at a
very, very affordable price. Comes with external control box and cable.
Includes a 90 day warranty instruction book. This is a factory refirb unit sell-
ing for a fantastic low price of S179.95
ADVANCED AMIGA ANALYZER 2.0™
An Inexpensive Diagnostic Analyzer That Works On All Amigas
M complete diagnostic hardware and software analyzer [uses point and click
software interface.) The analyzer cable plugs into all Amiga ports simultaneously and
through sophisticated software, displays 8 screens to work from. Shows status of data
ports, memory (buffer] checker, system configuration and auto test. Reads diagnostic
status of any read/write errors from track to track 79. Software automatically tells
what errors are found and the chips/components responsible. 85 to 90% of the
problems presented to service centers are found with this analyzer. Saves you lots of
money on repairs and no end user ar repair shop can offord to be without one. Don't
be fooled by its low cost. Simply plug in cables from the analyzer box. This
diagnostic tool is used by end users and Amiga repair centers
worldwide and is the only one of its kind. Over 15,000 sold.
New low price
Pietv C. O %'t4»yry * •
Amiga "Q-Drive" 1241 CD ROM Drive for the A1200
The Amiga Technologies "Q-Drive" 1241 is o PCMCIA interface for the Amiga 1200
(CD32 emulator). It is a super fast CD-ROM drive equipped with a PCMCIA connector.
KriCe* ^ I / V.lfO (Quantity pricing available)
*** WANTED ••*
Get Cash for your A2000 computers.
New or Used (NTSC or PAL).
We pay top dollar. We also pay UPS shipping charges.
ATTENTION DEALERS
Paxtron has been appointed as a North American distributor for ACT Apollo and
Phase 5 accelerators. Give us a chance to quote you our best prices.
New enlarged Web page: www.paxtron.com
Our web page is continually updated with latest products and price changes. Visit us and
check it out. Enter your order there or by E-mailing us at paxlroncorp@rcknet.com.
Paxtron
ATTENTION DEALERS: II you would like to receive our dealer catalog fax us your letterhead.
28 Grove Street, Spring Valley, NY 10977
914-578-6522 • 800-815-3241 800-595-5534 • 888 PAXTRON • FAX 914-578-6550
Hours: 9-5 pm ET Mon.-Fri. • Add S6.00 UPS Charges ■ MC/VISA • Prices subject to change
E-Mail for orders & correspondence: paxtroncorp@rcknet.com WE SHIP WORLDWIDE!
Extracting
Cover
Disk
files
Before putting the cover disks anywhere
near your computer, write protect them
by moving the black tab in the top corner
of the disk, so you can see through the
hole. Doing this makes sure you cannot
damage your disks in any way. There is
also no reason why the cover disks need
to be written to, so even if the computer
asks you to write enable the disks, don't
do it
To extract any single archive, simply
double click its icon, and follow the on
screen instructions. If you want to
extract the program to Ram, select the
NOVICE level on the welcome screen,
and press proceed once on the current
screen, and then again on the next The
program can then be found in your Ram
disk. Normally most programs need fur-
ther installing, so read the documents on
how to do this.
Hard Drive
Users
Hard drive users do not have to boot
with the first disk, but you must make
sure you have the Amiga's Installer pro-
gram in your C drawer. To make sure
your hard drive has the correct files in
place double click on the SetupHD icon.
This will check if you have the Installer
program and if not will copy it across. Do
not worry as it will not write over any
existing files.
All you hard drive owners will find
MultiExtract very useful. It is a separate
method of extracting the cover disk files.
It allows you to extract a number of files
in one go, to your hard disk or Ram.
When you run MultiExtract, you will be
presented with a number of check boxes,
each representing one of the programs
on that cover disk. Just de-select alt the
programs you do not want extracting,
and then press proceed. All the selected
programs can now miraculously be
found in the selected destination.
-Installing- dd'A done!'
fi&ra
-c//s.AMB[(Jir|(C CO VP
Ain't war brilliant? Well it is with Tiny
Troops. Kick ass with these micro
sized marauding meanies
Tiny Troops
Author: Vulcan SoftwareAny 1 Mb Amiga
Running TT
To run Tiny Troops just boot your
machine with the Tiny Troops disk in the
floppy drive. Hard drive users can drag
the Tiny Troops drawer off the disk onto
your hard drive and run ft from there.
There is a plot, honest there is, but really all
you need to know is that two inhabitants of
a planet have decided to come to Earth. Not
for a sightseeing trip, not to spot a lew trains
or collect stamps but to kick each others
butts, and you're going to help. The thing is
they are only about a centimetre high - a bit
Where do you want me to put TextDTpatch?
C Rfifl: (Recommended)
_J DF0: (Internal Dnue>
Proceed | Abort Install
Help.
J
?m &£■■
This is MultiExtract for mil you
sensible people with hard drives
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Amiga Computing
MARCH 1997
less than half an inch for none metric people.
From the main menu screen you can
choose to have a single or two player game
and also the type of controls you want to use
- mouse is highly recommended.
Troop selection lets you pick how many
and what type of troops you want. Just scroll
through the lined up troops at the bottom
and click the ones you want to fight with.
When finished, press the subtle war button to
kick off. At the top left and right you can get
helpful hints from your general and check
out the battlefield you are about to enter.
Once in battle your aim is simple - kill all
your opponents. Your troops appear from
out of the transporter fresh from Agaris IV
and ready for action. Troops can be moved
around individually or, by using the bounding
box, you can select a group to order around.
Depending whether you pick a single or
group of troops, you have different
options in the control panel.
Faulty disks
If you should find your Amiga
Computing CoverDisk damaged
or faulty, please return it to:
~171 Pk. 71P> WD7753, 7 7 SfAVnTT?
Sti'ssl ^,-nr77D7r/. VI Vnrfe 3D.7
Please allow 28 days for delivery
' 0| * P^e 76
mmst
_
Control panel
Scan Map - Shows a
mini version of the
current level, click on it
to be able to scroll
around the current level
Crossed
Swords ■ This
moves the play
area directly o\
a troop who is
currently fighting
Disk - Opens further 1 Eyeglass - Fist - Allows
options allowing you to I Alters the current I you to get any
load .md save the cur- I size of the scan H currently select-
rent game as well as I map in the left I ed troops to
quit and surrender corner of the I I attark » tampt
Arrow - Move
selected troops
und with the left
button, or set up to
four way points with
the right button
Status display
Shows you either
the current status
of the selected
troop, or the four
movement modes
t - .i i i i f nimiim
i^rjfrn.1 _ v>m-?*»v" -.»,-•■ ■£,
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om
PQUER
I. .1. I. I .1
SPEED: 7
Book - The left
half of the page
gives you advice,
while the right
side shows you
House - Run
away, run away.
Makes all your
troops leg it back
Skull and
Bones -
Gets all
your troops
to attack
the enemy
base
to the home tele-
cowards
Spanner - Get the
selected troops to go
back to the teleport
(or repair
Amiga Computing
MARCH 1997
SysSpeed v2.1
Author: Alien Design Workbench 3.0
To use the following
program you need
to have the Magic
User Interface
installed on your
system. Without it
you will not be able to run any MUI pro-
gram. MUI is available from any good
PD house.
V3L2
Ifs true when people say benchmarks are meaningless, just com-
paring how many instructions a CPU can process in reality means
nothing. What is important is how fast do actual real life process-
es perform, like image processing or file crunching.
SysSpeed has taken the most widely used PD and commercial
programs on the Amiga and produced a set of benchmarks for
them based on pre-set images and text files that can be run by
these programs using ARexx. The end result is a set of benchmarks
that can measure both the processing, graphics, hard drive, mem-
ory and over all system performance.
EvenMore
Author: Chris Perver Workbench 2.04
It is strange that, with the Amiga being in a
seemingly constant state of liquidation, the
place you have to turn to for quality replace-
ment programs is the public domain. One
program that really needs replacing is the
More program - the standard text reader
that every ReadMe file should use.
Unfortunately it has not changed once for
what, the last ten years, and it is an utterly
dire program.
People with Workbench 3.0 are better off
as the much more capable MultiView can be
used, but even this for text viewing is not
perfect. EvenMore is another in the long line
of replacement More programs and even
though this is an early version is very good. It
is fast, small, you can save the position of the
text window and you can select a public
screen for it to run on as well.
matt i h
Ht« 1 **VM«PW4* t*K II Bill I H HI C. **■■.!,»« ' W I'll
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MyFormat
Author: Daniel J Andrea Workbench 2.04
Seeing as how I was bitching about the
Amiga's system software, I might as well carry
on. This is a replacement for the sadly lacking
format command. Thanks to the comprehen-
sive interface, every type of file system is
available for you. If you rename the program
to just format, drop it in your System drawer
you can replace the old version so if you pick
format from the Workbench menu the this
new version will automatically pop up.
Replacing system software is
my favourite past time
AVID
Simplicity itself, EvenMore is a fast
straight forward text viewer
Author: Laszlo Torok Workbench 3.0
An AVI file is a PC movie file, similar to
Quicklime on the Mac or CDXL files on the
Amiga. They are animation files that have a
sound track, usually Amiga owners will
never come across these files, but with
wider Internet and CD-ROM access for
Amiga owners, you are more and more
likely to bump into one of these files at
some point.
>jrcfisks , covi-
DGraph
Author: Chris Underwood Workbench 3.0
Ever had the urge to plot complex mathe-
matical equations in three dimensions? Of
course you have, and finally here is the pro-
gram to let you do it, and save the results off
as an IFF file. Everything is fairly straight for-
ward, you can select the quality from the
steps slider and the angle to plot at, and if
you select the dynamic switch you can pro-
duce animated equations.
Speccylator
Author: Richard Carisson Workbench 2.04
I have seen a few Spectrum emulators
in the past The first few were quite
nasty, taking over the system and doing
horrible things with the CPU that made
things crash on certain machines. Then
ZX AM came along and gave you a good
Cadtools interface and multitasked so
you could get on with other things.
Speccylator takes things a little bit
further and gives you everything you
would want from a spectrum emulator.
It is fast supports the normal spectrum
snapshot files, runs on a promotable
Intuition screen and has the normal
Amiga pull down menus when in use.
There are specific 68000 versions to try
and get every last bit of speed out of
your prehistoric processor.
RenderLib &
MysticView
Author: Captain Befat Workbench 3.0
These are really two separate archives but
are both from the same people and
MysticView requires the Render Library to
work anyway. Render Library is a new
Amiga library that is available for program-
mers to easily manipulate images that are
up to 24 bit in depth.
As an example the small program
MysticView gives you a DataType based
image viewer that will display a scaled and
dithered picture in a scale-able window in
the Workbench, and gives you an idea of
the power behind the Render library. There
is even support of Ham screen modes.
Providing the best dithered displays, ail
your pictures look great with MysticView
VlDEOb
Drivers
Author: Dan Kovacs Workbench 2.04
You may know that the Amiga supports a
screen mode called HAM or Hold And
Modify. This is a unique screen mode that,
with only a small number of bit planes, lets
your Amiga display thousands of colours.
Workbench has never directly supported
HAM screens even though there's no reason
why it should not. Normally the only two
ways to get access to HAM screen modes is
to either hack existing screen pre-sets or use
MUlScreenMode, For people without MUI
this is a suite of pre-sets for the screen mode
preference program to let you access HAM6
and HAM8 screens.
Amiga Computing
MARCH 1997
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story of
i Amiga is a strange
one. Since Commodore
went bust in 1994, imp res
sive corporations have arisen as appar-
ent saviours of this unique platform, only to
disappear leaving a string of unfulfilled
promises. If it was any other computer, the
Amiga would have been forgotten by now.
But this is not any computer, and its sup-
porters are not your average computer users.
The Amiga has certainly been wounded by
delays in its development, and many of the
best companies have either gone bust or
moved to more stable r nj
kets. But there is still a whole
host of others developing and sup-
plying products to keep us happy,
plus die real hope of new, powerful
Amigas on the horizon from QutkPak.
1997 should be the year the Amiga's des-
tiny is finally resolved. In this exclusive sur-
vey, you'll find out what an entire community
of businesses and users think should happen
next
The birthplace of the Amiga it may be, but the American
market has suffered since Commodore's demise. According
to most of the companies in the survey, the US market has
been struggling of late, though the Video Toaster market
remains fairly buoyant.
Randhir Jesrani from retail firm Compuquick painted pos-
sibly the bleakest picture, saying that customer interest had declined over the
past five to six months. Software Hut has experienced a similar downturn in US-
based trade, which they ascribe to the fact that people are becoming discour-
aged by waiting for a resolution to the ownership situation.
By contrast, lAM's Dale Larson said business was buoyant during the holiday
season, thanks partially to reduced pricing and small incentives like the histori-
cal 'Boing logo' offer. However, he added that "Too many customers have had a
wait-and-see attitude since Commodore went bankrupt".
As to what needs to happen to revitalise the market, all the US companies
were in agreement on one thing: A new owner is needed, and soon. "Thereafter
we would like the OS to be expanded for Internet access, memory management,
networking, and better printer/scanner access," said
Compuquick's Jesrani. "We would then like the Amiga
platform to offer more power in terms of processing
speed and CD quality sound, though it should retain its
custom chip-set"
"The new owners should advertise and market the
Amiga so that the confidence of Amiga owners is maintained and the mar-
ketplace becomes familiar with the Amiga brand name and the technology," he
added.
Dale Larson's masterplan was rather more wistful. "Ideally, Bill Gates would put
me in his will and then die," he said. "I'd have hundred of millions of dollars to
invest in creating a new generation OS to compete with WinTel as a better gen-
eral-purpose system with better apps. Short of that resource, I don't see how the
Amiga platform will continue to develop in terms of new generations of hard-
ware/OS. it will still develop through third-party extensions and enhancements,
though, and it remains excellent in some niches and as a low-cost home
machine."
Amiga Computing
MARCH 1997
Great Britain
Good Old Blighty, always dependable for the best
Amiga support...or is it ?
"The Amiga market still accounts for 30-40 per cent
of our total revenue, and customer interest is still
extremely strong - an estimated 50 per cent of all our
calls are Amiga related," says First Computer Centre.
Blittersoft, Digita and HiQ all agree that customer
enthusiasm remained surprisingly high.
Commitment to the Amiga was very strong among
the UK survey respondents and the developers con-
tacted all had products in development, at least in the
form of updates to existing software. HiQ's Steve Jones
was particularly optimistic in this respect, promising an
RTG version of the award-winning Siamese system
with a few surprises thrown in for the near future. As
for the Amiga itself, HiQ thinks it might just show the
way for the new owners.
"We want cross platform support (as in stage 3 of
Germany
This is the biggest Amiga market in the
world.according the majority of the survey
respondents. As for product developers, Phase 5
has probably done more than anyone
to keep the Amiga up-to-date of
late, thanks to its superb range of
accelerators and graphics cards.
General Manager Wolf Dietrich
toid Amiga Computing that the
company is looking forward to
releasing its PowerPC accelerators
and Amiga. "We are working
closely with major software ven-
dors to realise massive support for
this architecture," he commented.
Another company, Haage and Partner, are
developing products like the image manipula-
tion package Art Effect and Storm C, the power-
ful development system. They say that the
strongest customer support in Germany comes
from students that find the individual strengths
of the machine appealing.
I TALY
the Siamese System), because customers just want to
run software and not worry about platforms," says
Jones, adding: 'The Amiga should go Alpha and drop
the Power PC, we are working on ways to do this
smoothly while maintaining compatibility. I hope to
not only be supporting the Amiga in two years time
but be in a position of guiding its future!"
Blrttersoffs Paul Lesurf emphasised that any new
owner would have to encourage third party support to
ensure a vibrant future for the Amiga.
"More affordable third party peripherals are impor-
tant to any future success, making use of existing tech-
nology on other platforms," he told Amiga Computing.
"The new owners should open up the Amiga technol-
ogy to third party developers."
For a slightly different perspective, we also contact-
ed Technocom, a company offering specialised
Internet access for Amiga owners. The company
believes there are only a few thousand UK users with
Net access at present, but the community is growing
with the potential to reach numbers in the tens of
thousands.
'The Amiga, with its multitasking abilities, is an ideal
computer for Internet access even in its present form,"
comments Technocom's Tim Evans. "But the Amiga
needs top-flight Internet software - browsers like
I Browse, Voyager and AWeb need to be developed at
greater speeds, to take advantage of new develop-
ments like frames. Most importantly, it needs Java."
"In general, the interest in Amiga
products has remained unchanged,"
commented Michael Battilana of
Cloanto, Italy's top software develop-
er. "We are continuing to invest in the
Amiga, and for 1997 you can expect
both new versions of current prod-
ucts (eg The Personal Suite) as well as some surprises."
Battilana said that survival for the committed Amiga developer
with the right sort of product has not been too tough so far. In fact, in
some ways, the lack of new models has meant customers have had
more money to spend on software instead.
'The Amiga is a low cost, low maintenance machine,' he said when
asked how it should be improved. "But we now have an old
Operating System, which is not very open to the new standards which
are increasingly interconnecting the world."
He continued: "I would push the Amiga into the very low price seg-
ment, with a new model having fewer and more standard compo-
nents - as it is, ifs too expensive to manufacture. Today, there are no
computers in the price range which made the C-64 or Spectrum the
most popular computers ever sold, but I think the demand is still
there. 1 would also increase attention on specific emerging countries."
Qser group perspective
CUCUG's Amiga Web Directory has become the top Internet resource for any Amiga user with
access, making it a truly huge and international community. We decided to get its perspective on
the international Amiga scene, and CUCUG's Kevin Hisel provided the answers:
Q. Is the number of Amiga-owning members
for your user group in decline?
A. No, in fact the Amiga membership is on a
sharp upswing. However, our case is different
from most other group's as many members
have joined CUCUG to support our efforts with
the Amiga Web Directory and are located all over
the world, it appears, though, that many of the
other local clubs we communicate with are los-
ing Amiga members.
Most ex-users seem to have 'jumped ship'
moving to more up-to-date and less expensive
hardware offered by Wintel and Macintosh plat-
forms. Many of our own members who have
exited say that they could easily be called back
to the Amiga if the OS was ported to a more
robust processor and costs were reduced.
Q. In which countries is Amiga support still
strong?
A. It appears the Europeans still enjoy a very
active base of Amiga support However, as time
goes by, this question will become less mean-
ingful since the Internet is decidedly shortening
the distance between users and vendors.
Q. Do you think QuikPak would make a good
new owner for the Amiga?
A. We're not sure what the best choice of new
owner would be, but we will say it needs to be
someone besides Escom's trustees and it needs
to happen very soon.
Q. How would you like to see the Amiga plat-
form develop?
A Many of our members would like to see the
Amiga OS ported to a more sophisticated
processor environment. Power PC was our first
choice, however questions have been raised as
to the PowerPC's long-term commercial viability,
so perhaps another RISC solution would be
more appropriate. It would also be helpful if the
new Amiga supported modern hardware stan-
dards like PCI. USB, IEEE-1394.
Q. What should the new owners do to revitalise
the Amiga?
A. It's probably most important to build and
ship something right away. QuikPak seems to
be on this high road having recently announced
the first new Amigas in years - much to the
delight of Amiga fans. But ultimately the Amiga
needs a major hardware upgrade and some
fundamental, niche talent to set it apart from
the millions of cookie-cutter Intel machines. The
new owners need to find modem-day Amiga
pioneers and build a truly different computer
and counter-market it much like Apple did early
in the Macintosh saga.
Q. How optimistic are you about the Amiga's
future ?
A. We feel that fundamentally the Amiga
remains one of the most capable computing
platforms. While it has fallen behind in hard-
ware and OS capability - especially networking
and the Internet - the machine and its software
are still remarkable. Of course, this does not
guarantee a bright future...The right company
and the right people still need to work hard to
make success happen for the Amiga.
Hest of the
WORLD
The genera! consensus has been that the
strongest interest in the Amiga has been
in Europe. Even companies like the
Australian CP Software who are gener-
ating reasonable sales of Opus 5.5 say
the main market lies in Europe.
Companies such as Click Crafix and
Systcom Limited told of the state of the
market in the Far East where there is a
small amount of fanatical support As is
the case with many of the Amiga com-
panies, their dedication was such that
while the Amiga exists, they're commit-
ted to supporting it Each of these devel-
opers were working on new projects
(such as Click Grafix's 'GeneRexxf soft-
ware) for the Amiga.
Amiga Computing
MARCH 1997
HOW OF SUPPORT
One thing that has kept the Amiga platform so
strong is the loyalty of the users and, I'm sure many
would agree, the various shows that are held help
keep the market alive. It gives the companies the
chance to meet the customers face to face - and
find out what they really want. It also shows a
unanimous front against the onslaught of the PC.
Shows are held all over the world. From the
huge Computer '96 at Cologne to the smaller scale
Expos, Amiga users flock in droves to find out
about the latest for their platform of choice. The
Amiga still dominated at last year's Cologne show
with only 30 per cent of exhibitors from the PC
side. In 1996 we also saw a successful Video
Toaster Expo held in Hollywood, with high profile
exhibitors such as AntiGravity and Nova Design.
The Amiga Central Ohio Network recently organ-
0CENE AMIGA
The demo scene has always been particularly
strong on the Amiga. Even now, regular parties
are held and although support for the demo
scene has dwindled in some parts of the world,
it is still popular in many of the Scandinavian
countries and places like Germany.
Manfred Linzner (Pink/ Abyss) told Amiga
Computing, "Most demos are coming today
from France, Finland, Sweden. The UK as a
demo country is DEAD! One of the most
famous groups of all time (ANARCHY (UK divi-
sion) died some years ago and so also the UK
demo scene." He believes the Amiga demo
arena is the best demo-related scene, 'The best
musicians are found on Amiga, the best draw-
ing artists and probably the most innovative
coders are also showing their skills on Amiga at
its best."
Thies Edeling from RAW Online the demo E-
zine, (http://www.xs4all.nl/~blahh), told us
about the scene in The Netherlands,
"Compared to the real scene-counlries like
Sweden, Finland, Germany and smaller ones
like Norway, the UK, France, it's quite small. In
these countries there are several active groups
who produce demos on a regular basis. In The
Netherlands I can't think of a group - consisting
of only Dutch members - who produces a
demo for every big party."
He tells us that demo parties worldwide are
ised an Amiga show
and, pleased at the \
response, are organis-
ing one for this year.
Dave Pearce from AmiCon
told us, "Last year's show was
successful in a number of ways:
Nova Design, Silent Paws and several
other vendors simply sold out of product in a short
space of time, which showed Amiga consumers are
not afraid to buy."
"Most people were amazed that there were so
many Amiga users close by. Companies who par-
ticipated were great, too. Many of them went out
of their way to do something special for the event
and were very careful and patient with questions
and inquires about their products and commitment
Cologne's Computer '96
showed that there was still
huge support for the Amiga
to the Amiga market." He con-
tinued, "I feel that events such
as ours show people that there
are Amiga users out there, keep-
ing up with today's standards and
still doing fabulous things with their
machines. I think all of us realise the
Amiga situation is grim and there's been lit-
tle to be thankful for, but when a large number of
Amiga users get together to talk, browse and inter-
act with each other, everyone leaves with a better
outlook."
This year looks set to have just as many Amiga
shows. It has been confirmed that the World Of
Amiga UK is going ahead, plus plans are being
made for a show in Melbourne, Australia to name
but a few.
Some work by demoers, Abyss
Albert by Louie - vote for your favourite pic at Raw
still very popular, "There is The Gathering in
Norway, each Easter. I think this is the third big
party. From what I've heard though, the peo-
ple attending there mostly consist of PC-
gamers {isn't it fun, playing network
Quake for three days at some party? No,
it isn't). Of course there is Assembly in
Finland, every year at the beginning of
August. And last, but definitely not least,
the most popular one: The Party in
Denmark, every year between Christmas and
New Year. This one is the most popular in the
Amiga scene."
Jon Lennart Berg from the Norwegian based
Amiga Foundation Network said, "Our demo
scene is probably more alive now than ever -
every coder wants to beat the PC at what the
PC does best - namely tex-
ture-mapped 3-D. Last year
we saw the highlights of
Amiga demo-coders demol-
ishing any PC resistance with
4-8Mb AGA demos - hopeful-
ly some of this technology
will make its way into the
games we all hope for."
In Australia, however,
the demo scene is not as
good. Warrick Burgess told
us, "The scene itself is pretty
bad currently, with only two
active groups, Cydonia (mak-
ers of Defy, the disk zine) and
a new group called Broken
formed by The Heavyweight
Raw Ezine keeps you informed of (he demo scene
an ex-member of Devious Dezigns and
Terminator (ex-member of Dusk).
Both are still producing things (Broken has
taken over releasing the Devious Tools util-
ity pack series) but generally the scene is
slowly falling away as more people pur-
chase PCs. I don't think it will ever com-
pletely disappear, but like the C64 scene
just continue at a smaller size." He goes
on, "Having said that, the commercial
(retail) side is more interesting. While the
Amiga isn't selling in chain stores here, the
interest and support of smaller computer spe-
ciality stores hasn't dropped off. One store
recently even advertised wanting to purchase
A1200s!"
The Amiga demo
scene is still going
strong in some
countries
In Australia there are only two active groups
Amiga Computing
MARCH 1997
^£2
Canada
Famous For: QuikPak,
Capital Punishment (the game!)
Aurora Works, Asimware Innovations Inc, Wonder
Computers
Sound Bytes: "QuikPak are certainly putting the
country well on the Amiga map and if the pur-
chase goes ahead, Canada will be bigger
than ever on the Amiga scene."
Britain
* f
Famous For: Blittersoft, HiQ (Siamese
System) , Almathera, Digha, (Wordsworth), Hi-Soft
Sound Bytes: "The number of Amiga computers in the UK
means that there is still a significant market for Amiga related
services. Also ISP's should try to support all types of computers for '
access, as the WWW is a cosmopolitan place!" Technocom
"Although Commodore died, the userbase didn't and many com-
panies have continued to support the machine. People continue
to buy new software and hardware and the few Amiga shows
that continue are still packed. The Amiga has a loyal
bunch of dedicated followers and so the machine
can still be profitable to develop for." Epic
*
V ~
j » Y
America
Famous For:
Anti-Gravity, Intangible Assets Manufacturing,
Software Hut AmiTrix, NewTek (Lightwave)
Sound Bytes: "Overall I believe customer interest in Amiga
products is down slightly as people become discouraged
with waiting. We are still very busy because we sell to deal-
ers and end-users as well as around the world." Software
Hut "Despite what others may tell you, the Amiga is a
good profit centre with a loyal base of users. These
users are what keep the Amiga alive and they are
. happy and overjoyed to support dealers
t that carry Amiga products." Arrrj-
Gravity
URVEY RESULTS
TV
•N
A
%
Spain
Famous For: AmigaTek Espana,
Graffiti Board
Sound Bytes: "Without Spain we
wouldn't have the name Amiga
which is of course, Spanish
for Girlfriend."
We contacted over forty Amiga companies
from all around the world. Here's what they
said:
• Most dealers have seen a gradual decline
in custom over the past year, but the market
remains very viable
• The Amiga Video market remains very
strong in many countries.
• The majority of developers contacted still
had Amiga products in development though
most projects were upgrades rather than
totally new products.
• Over half the respondents said the Amiga
desperately needs a faster processor ASAP.
Most of these say if s got to be Power PC or
DEC Alpha.
• Almost half said it badly needs its OS
updated; a few specified a need for better
networking and Internet support
• About a quarter said it needed improved
graphic and/or audio capabilities.
• The majority thought a new owner should
focus on the cheap, entry-level computer
market A few expressed concern that
QuikPak were focusing too much on the
Video Professional market
• The majority also thought a strong
advertising campaign in the general com-
puting press would be required to show
potential customers that the Amiga is
available.
• Many said that the new owner needs to
network better with third Party Developers
than has ever happened in the Amiga mar-
ket before.
• A minority of the respondents said a new
owner should concentrate on the Video
niche market and/or develop cheap big box
Amiga that are fully expandable.
+
f
1
i
Amiga Computing
MARCH 1997
ail
Norway
Belgium '
Famous For Amiga City, Generation
Amiga
Sound Bytes: "We have been open since
October 1996. First of all, we are Amiga
mthusiasts. We think that there is a mar-
ket for the Amiga. The Amiga is an
L answer for a lot of people who
want more than a PC."
t Generation Amiga '
Famous For: Scala, Applause Data
Sound Bytes: "The owner [of Amiga] must be capa-
ble of taking control of the Amiga in a serious and pro-
fessional manner. They must maintain a proper dialogue
with the distributors and co-operate with them to get the
Amiga back into the shops. This will not be an easy job,
at least not here in Norway." Applause Data
"The Amiga has some old roots in Norway and
those roots will not be replaced by any new
machine in the near future." Amiga
Foundation Network
Germany
Famous For: Haage and
Partner (Art Effect Storm C)
Phase 5 ( Cybert/ision, CyberStorm), Eagle Computer
Products, ProDAD, CeBit, Cologne Show
Sound Bytes: "Arguably the most Amiga
supported country in the world - tons of com- -M
panies, users and shows all dedicated ^dj
to the Amiga." ^
t
RANCE
Famous For: Solectron,
Requester Tools
Sound Bytes: "France has its fair share of
Amiga activity. For one thing - the Solectron
factory in France was chosen by Escom
i to produce the Escom Amigas."
Japan
■a
Cyprus V 1
Famous For: Vavel Computers \
Sound Bytes: "We sell complete Amiga-
based systems for TV stations - six out of
Hit depend on the Amiga for their graphics,
fprus Airways is using a number of Amigas
lor flight information. Also we provide TV
graphics services for a number of compa-
l nies and studios in Cyprus, Greece,
Bahrain and Dubai." Vavel
Computers
Famous For: Systcom Limited
' Sound Bytes: "[Interest in Amiga products]
is very weak. Amiga doesn't support the
Japanese language and the Japanese branch
office (or any official marketing company)
didn't develop it. The language barrier
is serious here." Systcom
Limited
•
.
Italy
Famous For Cloanto
Sound Bytes: "In our sales statis-
tics, Italy is at fifth place, following
Germany, Great Britain, France and
Poland. In general, in ail countries,
the interest of loyal customers has
remained unchanged, but I esti-
mate that in Western Europe
there is 20-40 per cent fewer
active users than one year
ago." Cloanto
Australia
Famous For: Austex (Uropa2) GP Software (Directory
Opus).
Sound Bytes: "Most of our sales are in the UK and European '
markets. The Canadian/US markets are quite tough these days
with it becoming increasingly difficult to reach the end user. The
Australian market is fairly small, but there are still some active
user groups and some other developers producing products
and services for the Amiga." GP Software
"Many Amiga products are available in Australia,
i but not games, as there is a S550 censorship fee for dr
^ any title that is imported." Amiga News Australia ^^
^ (phone 042 672685 for Australians or 61 ^T
42 672685 for overseas) ^f
Malaysia
Famous For: Click Crafix - GeneRexxT (ARexx
Generator for Adpro)
Sound Bytes: "Although the user base is very small
nevertheless they are very much in love with the
Amiga. Some have given up, and some swore it's
tiie last computer they will use and will never
migrate to any other platform. Sometimes my
showroom becomes a heated battle
between Amiga users only." Click
Grafix ^^k
Amiga Computing
MARCH 1997
f
?• »
1 L - ] ^
-■• {
:> € l; 'ff-Gfe'
a -Vi'[Hrf-- r iT J l'lfit'ffl
^>^l.-rfH *i:i t .
INTO THE NET contains all Ihe tools required to
access and explore the internet with ease. The
double CD set contains usable versions of
MIAMI. Voyager. iBrouse, AmiTCP and more. In
addition the CDs contain many utilities for crest-
ing your own WEB pages, down-loding mail, and
much more.
in-to-tHe-net
Contains around 5000 oratsc hand drawn Images i
the Japanese amine tradit.on.
This CD is of an Adult nature and should not be
purchased by anyone likely to be offended by
drawings depicting nudity and / or sex acts.
Includes tmagos only suitable for person
Eta age of 18
Mick Davis's Cartoon VM
Clipart Volume One is a HlL=L'i!4
new Amiga CD-ROM con-
tain ng around 500 commissioned
cartoon images, all of which can be
used "royalty-free". Each image is
stored as IFF, and all have been
scanned at the highest possible
resolution to ensure the best qual-
ity when printed. Supplied with a 30+ page print-
ed index of each Image. Every commissioned image on thjs
CD is 100% original and does not/wilt not appear on any other
CD-ROM
ANJME BABES (18)"
JIQ
The new Magic Workbench CD contains the
largest collection of Magic Workbench Icons,
Backdrops and tools ever compiled. Includes
well over 5,000 Magic WB Icons. Over 600
specially selected Magic Workbench back-
drops in S, 16 and 256 colours, over
30megabytes of Workbench tools, gadgets,
patches and desktop enhancer tools/utilities.
The CD afso includes Magic Workbench
aswell as many other items never before
released on any Amiga CD ROM. If you want to update/enhance
you existing Workbench 2 or 3 then this is the perfect Workbench add
on CD ROM. This CD is only suitable for any KickstartZ^
based Amiga's such as the A500+. A600, A120Q h and A4QQ0.
see&Y roms
THE HOTTEST AROUND
Adult Sensation is possibly the Amiga's largest selling adult
title It features over 4,000 high quality 256 colour images of
"adult' 1 nature. Image viewers and coverters are includ-
for any Amiga. (OVER 1B ONLY)
(CDG1) £19.99
Adult Sensation 2 not only contains 4,000 new colour
mages but also includes tons of adult related samples, adult
music modules, tonnes of adult stories, adult animations.
black&white 70s photos, adult games and more.
{OVER 16) (CD115) £19.99
Sexy sensation [his CD contains around 2,000 specially
chosen high quality BMP & GIF Images. Viewers & graphic
converters are included for easy and quick access to any of
the pictures on any Amiga. {OVER IB)
^^^^ (CD168) £19.99
Adult Sensation 3D actually contains over 2,000 true 3
Dimensional cofour rnnagps 3D viewing software and top
quality 3D glasses are also supplied. Available now 1
(OVER16)N^_^ ifo(/sox
(CD145) £18,99
Adult Animations contains hundreds of naughty? anima-
ions/film clips for Adults only. Viewing software included for
the Amiga. Limited first slocks so order now. HURRY!!!!
(STRICTLY OVER 18'S ONLY)
(CD1«x) £».8fl
Adult MENsation is a collection of urague Images of Ihe
male body. This CD-ROM has been compiled to forfill the
hundreds of requests for a CD dedicated to the ladies.
Very easy to use. Okay on any Amiga.
(CD164) £19.99
Kraft* en ib
Aminet set one 2*99'
Aminet set two 24.99
Aminet set three 34.99
Aminet 14 October 12.99'
Aminet 15 November 12.99
Aminet 15 12.99
Amiga Repair Kit CD 4999
Amiga System Booster 19.99
World Info 19.99
Turbo Calc v2.1Spreadsheet 9.99
Amiga Developers CD '-.55
Print Studio Pro 39.99
Magic Publisher (4cd | 49.99
Meeting at Pearls 4 999
Mods Anthology |4cd) 29.99
LightROM Gold
3D Objects. (LWO 4 IOB)
Octamed Sound Studio
CD32 Network set 2
Personal suite Reduced
The Learning Curve
DEM Rom
Light ROM4
Octamed 6 CD Reduced
Xi Paint 4.0
1078 Weird Textures
3000 jpeg Textures
tnto The NET (2cd)
Multimedia Backdrops
Sounds Terrific 2 (2cd)
1.2gigabyte (1200mb) ready-lo-fit
Amiga hard drive. Pre-formatted
and installed with Workbench 3.
Supplied with all cables and
instructions.
Wilh FREEharddisksw!
............. Only £179.00
1.2GIG HARD DISK .J.oopsp
Quad[4x) speed CD-ROM drive
complete with interface for the
A1200 Supplied with installation
software Includes a FREE
copy of the Epic Collection.
PleBse quote: Q-Drive
Now only £149.00
♦ EJ.OOP&P'
AMIGA CD-ROM
0YBM00
AMIGA CD- MM
TITlfS
AVJUUUU.
We took sveryones vat-id comments with concern to the first release of the
Encyclopedia and changed, modified updated the whole product to the
extent that it now includes over 20.000 subjects. The new 1997 version of
the E^c Interactive encyclopedia Is available now. it features a superb new
updated multimedia interface, hundreds of film clips, images, sound samples
and subject information text. The 1997 ver&on now supports a multitude of
new features inluding: Colour images. Full-screen filmdips. National anthems,
and a unique inter-ACT" feature which allows you to interact with certain
subjects like: chess, piano, etc. A superb reference title for the whole family,
HEW
FOR
n
'I worked on this tide for almost two years,
and it still impresses me*. Vince Pike. Epic
"It has ;cj be sa:d ihat the grapft.es set new prece-
dents in Amiga mijllimedia presentation"
Craems Sandrford, Amiga Fiymat
"Why is t you are the only company producing
decent Amiga CD-ROMs' G Hamilton
"If you're on the lookout lor some interactive refer-
ence materia* (hen ihjs. fits the biir. Tony Horgan. CU
The mam met'U
The Exptiraped-a menu The subject creator
AVAILABLE FOR ALL AGA AMIGA'S (with 4mb* ram & Hard drive)
1997 AG A version features include:
'True 256 colour Multi-media Interface
unlike anything seen on the Amiga'"
"Produced in the UK
unlike most encyclopedias
'Around 16,000 subjects covered
from Aalborg to Zygote
'Hotlist editor
So you can create lists of subjects
'Hundreds of samples
Music tracks and and over 200 samples
'Thousands Df pictures
Over 3.0D0 colour/mono pictures included
'Dozens of film-clips/animations
Over 200 subject related film-clips
'View many film-clips "full-screen"
New Zoom option
'Now includes Music tracks
National anthems and different music styles
'Import new subjects
from the Internet or from floppy disk
'Export data to printer or file
and use it in your own projects
'Kids Explorapedia
Eighl kid's interactive play-aboul sections
'Enhanced speech facility
Improved speech synthesis
'Subject creator
Create your own subject data
'Network compatible
Can be run through CD32 or CDTV
'Upgrade your
existing version
to the 1997
version.
'Simply return your
current CD-ROM
version along with a
cheque ot just
£11 99plu$P&P
fS an AVn-gj 1290 i
4000. a nam drive a CD-ROM dn.
roc&TiveraM)
THE EPIC INTERACTIVEENCYCLOPEDIA '97
This superb highly rated Amiga CD-ROM World Atlas
features flexible quick access to individual countries
via continental maps, county list, capital or general
x. Concise, informative county histories. Each
ntry is supported by a series of maps ^^^
icting regional position, major cities, eit
WORLD ATLAS AGA
GIF SENSATIONS |2CO.
Contains around 10.000
colour images suitable for
DTP. ICD128) £19-99
NOTHING BUT GIFS
Features thousands of
very high quality images.
(CD197) £19.99
IMAGE CD-ROMS Bmmbrwom
Tnc Kara
I Collection '
I is a profes-
l sional and
i unique set
of fonts, back-
drops and tools for spe-
cial effects in pictures,
animations, titling and
presentaions £34.99
ICi f-ROM CD-ROMS I KARA FONTS CD
LIGHT-ROM 4 £29.99
The latest issue contains
thousands and brand new
objects for Lightwave w
LIGHT-ROM GOLD £19.99
Contains the oest
Lightwave 1 " 30 objects
from LightROM issues 1.
2 and LightROM 3.
his CD-
ROM con-
tains over
1000 digi-
tal elevation
maps[DEMs).
For use in VistaPro,
ScGnary. Animator or
WoiieJ Construction Set
DEM-ROM (EU.99)
GA Experience 2 wrffuad
o-itains 100% [ ^^^^
anginal AGA mate-
rial including pictures,
AGA demas. AGA games,
and AGA tools. Most informa-
tion runs direct from the CD
'Normally £19.99
EXPERIENCE 2 (C02io* £».«)
Aminet 16 contains over
600mb of the very latest
Amiga software, including
games, demos, animations,
music tools, comms. patch-
es, etc Available lor £12.99
or £10.99 when you
take out a subscription
(CD239) £12.9fl
This CD was rated 95% in AF. il
features all the tools and informa-
; on, specifications etc, needed to
produce and develop Amiga
software. Includes the latest ver-
sions of the installer, CD press-
ing software. CDXL toolkit, etc.
ELOPERS CD v1.1 (CD22e) £14.99
» o a
Choose any of The following CD-BOHls p»
j fB££ with every £25 you spend!
| Spend £25 choose one free CD
Spend £50 choose two free CD's etc.
Games EXPLOSION
Contains hundreds of
games. FCD263
OEMQMANFAV '
Contains hundre
great demos. FCD2&4
DTP TOOLKIT
Fonts. Opart and
many loots. FCD265
TOOLS FOR FOOLS
. Hundreds of erreal utili-
ties and tools" FCD1S7
ANIMATION NATION
Hundreds of stu ; ". rjg
animabons. FCD262
COMPUTA MUZAK
Hundreds ofmusic
mottuiea. FCD26S
iSH POSTAGE COST:
ACKINGTHE
:t jC-ct to pnce
Mga without BOfigg
Emulators Unlimited contains Software emula-
tion tools for the Amiga. Spread over numerous
platforms are emulators for: Apple. BBC,
Commodore 64, Commodore VIC20. Amstrad
CPC. Apple Mac, Gameboy, Atari ST, MSX,
Apple2Q0, Atari 800. Atari1040ste, Sinclair
QL r Unix and more. Also features hundreds
of games, tools etc for most of the
emulators.
The FLASH-ROM is a "companion" Emulators CD that
contains many new cartridge based machine emulators
like; Kelecovisfon, Nintendo, Gameboy etc. Order code;
(CD260) £19.99*. Order both Emulators &
FlashROM for just £29.99* (CD283).
EMULATORS UNtlfl/IITEEf ¥
Print Studio PRO allows you to create and print a wide vari-
ety of business cards and labels. Also features: PiclurCAT,
Printer24 - A 24bil graphics print manager. 200mb of mono
& colour clipart, and hundreds of quality fonts. Print Studio
PRO provides a versatile colour correction system,
suiting in perfect colour output on most printers. KS3 or high- a
required.
PRINT STUDIO PR5 *
■Cioanto's
Personal
Suite con-
I tains the
J full ver-
sions of Persona!
Palm, Persona! SBasc.
Personal Write, P. Fonts
and over 5QCmb of use-
able Art, Texts & Fonts.
Paint, Image
Processing, Animation,
24bit Printing. Word
Processing, Database
and much more.
Rated 90%
P.SUITE
nsight dinosaurs has been pro- m
duced in association with The I
Natural History Museum in ™
London, and features the work of
world renowned dinosaur illustra-
tors. It features hundreds of
photo's, [[lustrations, video clips, narration
id sound effects. It is the ultimate A-Z of
nosaurs. CD includes both ECS & AG A versions.
ted over BflS
INSIGHT DINOSAURS
SCI-FI Sensation is an exciting
new CO-ROM containing over
1.3GIGof SCl-FMmages anima-
tions, 3D objects, Sound FX.
Documents, Themetunes,
Scripts & SCI-FI games.
Subjects included are:
BabylonS, Startrek (The origi-
nal TNG, Deep Space 9 and
Voyager). Batman. Dr Who,
Thunderbirds. Robocop, Sea
Quest DSV, Bladerunner, Aliens.
Terror hawks. 2001. Blake7,
Bstllestar Galactica, Tron, Total
RecaL 2010, Space 1999 etc-
"Buy SCI-FI Sensation from lis and
you will always receive the Jatest
available version.
CU Amiga: 31% A VI: 93%
Arcade Ctassics is an original col-
lection of ALL your old arcade
favourites, Including Amiga ver-
sions of PACMAN. SPACE
INVADERS, ASTERIODS, MIS-
SILE COMMAND. PENGO,
FROGGER, LOAD RUNNER.
GALAXEANS. DONKEY KONG,
NUMEROUS TETRIS GAMES,
BATTLEZONE. TEMPEST, COMBAT, TRON,
SPACE WARZ, THRUST, O^BERT. HUNCHBACK, MOON
PATROL, TRAIL BLAZER, BREAKOUT, CENTREPEDE,
CYCLES, BE2ERK. SNAKE, SCRAMBLE, PING PONG.
BREAKOUT, NUMEROUS C64 CONVERSIONS, A COL-
LECTION OF JEFF MINTER GAMES AND HUNDREDS
MORE. Over 600mb of unforgettable retro-gaming.
Now Includes easy to uso Multimedia Arniga interface.
ARCADE CLASSICS Plus
3
Choice for great value and service
"flu? UK's masi po|jui3r mail order company.
| Seperate order lines
Ways to receive your order
Standard 1-2 days, Next pay ox Same Day DeUvetry
/i Easy ways to order
JUi. Phono Fax. E-riiait. Post
J"* Ways to pay
\j Croat t tjrd Ctwque. Postal -order* Cash or c.O.D
i^Choices of free CD-ROMs
^J| Music. Games, D*mo T 5. Tools...,
Contains 1200 our most popular floppy based
software titles on one giant 600mb CD-ROM.
Now yoj can purchase the entire Epic collec-
tion in one go. Subjects include: Professional
mono clipart, colour clipart, numerous 3D
objects for Imagine & bghtwave, Colour.
Bitmap, Compugraphic fonts & Adobe fonts,
Graphics converters, Music tutorials,
Beginners guide, 3D stereogram generators.
Sound FX and samples. Virus Killers, Hard
disk installer & tools, Various Hardware projects, Hundreds of games
including Mind leasers, Puzzle, card, arcade and board games,
books, and more.
THE EPIC COLLECTION v2
JUSTIN. Women of the Web... i,GAt «(CD402) Just£19.99
Call now for a FREE full colour 16 page CD-ROM catalogue!
World of Clipart is a double CD-
ROM containing around 40,000
mono and colour clipart images
contained in over 100 categories
inlFF.GIF, PCX, CDR, EPS,
TIF. & BMP. Tools for converting
images to another formats are
included. Subjects include :
Animals, Anatomy, Babies, Men
■ees, Reptiles, Insects., Xmas,
eligious. Planes, Vehicles, Ships, Toys, Zodiac signs,
ye catchers. Humour, Cats, Dogs, Computers,
gchnology. Sealife, Space, Symbols. Dinosaurs, Plants,
atjre. Ads, Tools, Astrology, Hands, Birds, Business,
ffice, Workers, Cartoon, Lion King, Education, Food,
ardening. Holidays. Houses & Buildings, Helicopters,
hlldren, Banners, Medieval, Military, Monsters, Music,
ports. Transport, and more.
Hi™ *% WORLD OF CLIPART + '
Retro gaming at it's bast Around
3000 all-time classic spectrum
game files on one CD-ROM.
Emulators included for any Amiga..
Games include Manic Miner,
Skool daze, Monty mole, Startrek,
Thrust, Jet Set Willy, The Hobbit,
Strip Poker, Danger Mouse, The
Sentinel. Micro Olympics, Under
Wurlde. Uridium, Alic Alac, River
raid, Barbarian, Hunchback and
around 3000 olher classic spectrum
game files including multi-toad
games. Speccy '96 also contains
hundreds of documents containing
instructions for most games aswell as
hundreds of speccy game cheats
Okay on any CD-ROM drive connected to an Amiga.
ew Vers.an'. now also includes: Workbench games
ttery predictors. Hundreds of bad jokes and more-
Rated: AF GOLD 95% - CU 91% ■ AUI 90% - AC over 90%
THE SPECCY CD ■&
This CD contains information that
NOBODY wants you to know
about, and includes tons of
megabytes of text documents
and pholographs reEatlng to UFO
sightings and abductions etc.
ENCOUNTERS <cpit&) £14.99
COMING S0CN
The Epic Interactive Quiz
Show is an exciting new
Amiga based CD-ROM
quiz game for the whole
family. KNVUf
mm
Igpr,
Features inlude:
*AGA hi-res graphics
'Virtually every question is spoken
*Upto 4 players/teams can play
*20 different subject categories
'Select from 10 different effrac-
tors, or add your own characters.
"Use keyboard or special controller
*Over 3000 different questions
'Includes ''flash card" questions
«•£ OPTIONAL "WTERACTOR- CONTROLLER. £24.
THE EPIC INTERACTIVE QUIZ SHOW
REP LACEMENT WORKBENCH
RVM-2- WB1.Z [Misks) £3.05
RWBH- HBU (3disks) £930
RWB1CW- WB2.M(3disks] M.K
RWBIS-S - WB3.0 [5disks| ;»W
HARD DRIVE SEW
EhS7-2 ■ AGOG HO Setup 1 Install £7.00
MM . A1200 HD Satup £, Install f 7.001
CD-BOM flWVERS
AP3-I- Aiapi IDE Drivers £3.00
AAZ7-2 - Zappo/Arcos Drivers ■ £7.00
SSS1 2-2- Squire! SCSI Software Epoa
PRINTER DRIVERS
DRV5-'- 100 Printer Drivers £503
fEpson, Canon, HP, Slar, elcj
AMINET
SUPER
SUBSCRIPTION
TRANSFER YOUR AMINET
SUBSCRIPTION FROM YOUR CUR-
RENT SUPPLIER AND NOT ONLY
WILL YOU GET EVERY FUTURE
COPY OF AMSNET FOR £10.99
BUT WHEN YOU JOIN OR SUPER
SUBSCRIPTION WE'LL ALSO SEND
YOU E20.00 WORTH OF AMIGA CD-
ROM VOUCHERS FREE OF CHARGE.
CALL OUR SPECIAL AMINET
SUBSCRIPTION HOTLINE ON:
01793 432176
TO SUBSCRIBER
This NEW CD rom contains
around 15,000 all-time classic
Commodore 64 games and sw
emulator to run them on your
Amiga....
n stock now!
GAMES CD V2 (CD2S1) row £39.9
This new CD contains hun-
dreds of megabytes of Blitz
source-code. Blitz tutorials.
game graphics, sound-fx,
fonts, many Blitz WEB f " "
and game music tracks
which you can use freely in
your own Blitz programs
ENHANCER (CD252 £17.9
UK FREEFONE
ernai: ^scmarteting^dialinjTet
Fax 01793 514187
, to: EPIC 43 flkers Way, Swindon, Witts, UK. SH2 2NF
Open Monday-Saturday 9:30am -6:00pnvsfi Overseas Orders: +44 1793 51418S
Hll
"you live in Australia or NewfcZealand you eta ipurdiase any of our CD-ROMs from our Sydney '
dSeuuniLt. ociw yuur U.U*?,;, uj. trfb. ju ruipo, nvou, . n?*i.»n.v*cr, ,....., _..,-■
el: |02)9 S2096O6 Fax: (02) 9 520 6077 Totoricos in Australian KSsinpkdoiifcthe UK £££ pncesSsicd
««*«
PRIORITY ORDER FORM
NAME
This CD contains almost 100
variations or the worlds most
addictive and loved game. Nearly
afl the games are ready to run
directly from CD. and archived
versions are also included.
Available Now 1
HING BUT TETRIS
PLEASE SUPPLY
A3 prices ttc v*
ITEMS
^DDRZS$
MACHINE
PAYMENT METHOD
CREDIT CARD DETAILS
EXP DATE.
Qty £tt
TOTAL GOODS VALUE
POSTAGE & PACKING
AMOUNT ENCLOSED
(OPUS 4 12
,£50
A1200 expansion Cards
SOCCER MOUSE
™.th£19.99 I
Magnum 63030/68040 b 68060 Cards
SF[{D INCREA5E Of UP TO 27 TIMES ♦ 68D30MO DH GO
PROCESSOR RUNNIMG AT 25/40 or 50MHz
(NEW Processor Chip • NOT Own clocked} * MMU in
ALL Processors ♦ Up 10 32MB of RAM can be added
* KlCKSTART REMAPPING • OPTIONAL SCSI-ll INTERFACE
♦ Can accommodate a 72-pin industry standard SIMM
* 68Q40/6D have Built-in FPU, 63030 CARD has optional
PLCC/PGA type FPU (Floating Point UnttJ * Battery
Backed Clock/Calender • Trapdoor Fitting - doesn't void
warranty ♦ PCMCIA compatible so voj can still use
products such as OverDrive HD on CD/Zappo CD-ROM
or Souirrel * Ziflo Waitt State Design.
Magnum RAM8 Cahd
Speed Inchease of 2.3 times ■ 2.BBm,ps
♦ Availasie with 0, 2, 4 on 8MB df 32 Bn
RAM installed ♦ Uses Stindard 72-pin
SIMMS * OPThONAL PLCC TYPE FPU
(FLOATING POINT UNIT) » BATTERY BaCkEO
CLOCK/CALENDER ♦ FlNGER Cl/tDut TO HELP
Installation ♦ Trapdoor Fitting - doesn't
void warranty ♦ d-4mb - pcmcia
compatible (for use with overdrive.
squirrel etc.) * Zero Waite State Desi gn.
RAM8 £49*
RAM8s33MHzFPU i79*
68030/25MHzsFPU £99*
68030/40MHZ £.29*
68fl30/40MHzsFPU c149»
68030/SOHHz ri69*
68040/25MHz i249* £289„ i319« £359* e429„
6S040/40MHz i329* £3*9* £399* £439* £509*
68060/SOMHz £499* £539* £569* £609* £679*
SCSI-ll Interface for the Magnum 66030/68040 Ei 680G0 Cards- Warranty safe
installation, supplied with software - £79*99
4ms
8ms
16ms
32m
£89*
dI9«
N/A
N/A
dl9*
£149*
N/A
H/A
£139*
£169*
£209*
£279*
£169*
£199*
£239*
£309*
f189«
£219*
£259*
£329*
£209*
£239*
£279*
£349*
sairuRN
fittnuti ittk Ficppu prirM
■■: warn
H ALL Aw«xs
« High Quality SONY Dm * Robust
Mctal Case * Awn-Cua as Stancahq
• Emaw/Disasu Switch • Lew Power
Cof*u*oton * Tufty Poflt itfl Extra
Os £ i>T.W WITH POAIFlCOPY
Pfq 3 -The BEST Backup Svsti
Quarterback
Disk Suite
The Classic QuarterBack 6. 1 and
Quarterback Tools Deluxe are back
on sale. Considered by most as THE
OtSt SACKUP AND DISC RECOVERY
programs we have ava3laelle. for a
limited period, the two packages
gowbfned at an unbelievable price
(normally £73.99). Disk eackup
anc dlsk recovery/optimisation are
1w0 key tasks that just shouldn't
ee left to -inferior po alternatives.
Get the Best
Get the
QwTEftBACK Disk _
Suite. £*# WM
34
TURBOPRINT 4 J
If YDJ HAVE A PRINTER •
s^Z, ' you MUST get
TupboPrint 4.1. It radically
enhances the printouts you normally get
by replacing the amiga printer system
yytth the Faster and Visibly Better
TurboPhwt System. Options ucluce
Poster Printing, Colour Correction,
Dithering, Colour
balancjn3. on-screen p review and mucm
More... Most printers are supported -call to ,.,
accx. Amkla Shopper 90%.
49,
LNTtRPitllb
HP FAX
FlU ^ . ■ j . ■ . Solution
Send Faxes to and fbom
your Amiga.
Evin Fax owectu from your
application.
Amiga Format Gold
Amiga Computing 9/10
Fax Compatible
Modem Required
Mm
SoOdps
3 BUTTON JSSL
MICE & MATS Idrivhdbk
for aII Arnigut t Atari STt
Award winning 560dpi Resolution * 90^ hating in CU
Amiga ♦ Micro Switched Buttons • Amga/Atari ST
SWITCHABLE * AiL 3 BUTTONS CAN BE USED WITH MANY
PROGRAMS SUCH AS DIRECTORY QPJS 5
BEIGE £12.99 BLACK
MAT £2.*t OR £1 WTTH A MOUSE
O DIRECTORY ■■■■■
pus5
The BEST just got BETTER! After M months of further '
development d^lls 5.5 is now ready and shipping. stunning new features include:- * i cow action
Mode * Workbench ReplacEmejjt Mode ltrafaattcally enhanced + OpusFTP capability td access
Internet FTP sites with a lister ♦ Borderless Button banks + Filetyte-specific pop-up menus
t CYBERGRAPHiCS RTG SUPPORTED • INDEPENDENT HOTKEYS • SCRIPT SYSIEM TO EXECUTE COMMANDS UPON
EVENTS * MULTPLE CUSTOM MENUS iVITH SUB ITEMS * AUTOMATIC Fl.ETYPE CREATOR TO CREATE AND TEST
FlLETYPES WITH EASE ♦ A FONT VIEWER ♦ LlSTERS FIELDS FOR TITLES, Rl-SOfltlNG BY FIELDS. PLUS A 'VERSION -
p nao * Colour re-mapping jf buhom/icon images w.th support
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£179*
PageStream imported this complicated document
from Wordworth 5 • only partially successfully
PageStream 3.2 is unrivalled on the Amiga
when it comes to sophisticated page design
Ohink of desk top publishing on the
Amiga, and most of you will admit
that, for a long time now, there has
been only one choice for the seri-
ous designer. Soft-Logik has been proving for
years that what the Macintosh can do with
Quark XPress, the Amiga can accomplish with
the venerable PageStream package.
Not surprising then, that Amiga designers
have been getting impatient waiting for a new
release of the PageStream software. In fact,
PageStream appeared as version 3 - to great
acclaim, of course - way back in December
1994. Some would be forgiven for imagining
that Soft-Logik had abandoned the Amiga to
develop for less uncertain markets.
Fortunately this is not the case. PageStream
3.2 has finally arrived to reassure Amiga users
that their favourite DTP package is keeping up
with the times. The fact that this is only being
marketed as an update rather than a full new
version shouldn't disappoint anyone too much
either. So many refinements and new features
have been implemented since version 3.0 that
Soft-Logik can justifiably claim to have made
widespread improvements to the program.
Before anyone with a sudden desire to
make a start in DTP places their order, remem-
ber this is a powerful package aimed at the pro-
fessional user and consequently requires a rea-
sonably powerful Amiga to run satisfactorily.
Version 3.2 now needs 4Mbs of RAM, but rec-
ommends 8Mbs. Furthermore, if you plan to
PageStream has received a major update with
the release of version 3.2. Gareth Lofthouse
puts the Amiga's leading DTP program to the test
work on a day-to-day basis with PageStream, a
RTG board would be highly recommended to
allow you to move text and picture boxes
around at speed. PageStream 3.2 includes
direct support for CyberGraphx graphic cards,
allowing users to work in up to 24 bit mode on
ORKING WITH OTHER
PLATFORMS
Softlogik has made a big deal of how PageStream can work with source material from the
PC or Macintosh platforms. This is understandable, since the Macintosh has established itself
as the industry standard for Desk Top Publishing.
However, there have been problems previously with importing text from other platforms.
Now Soft-Logik have added a new RTF (Rich Text Format) import filter to replace the Word
and WordPerfect 5 filters which never worked as well as they should have. Fortunately, all
major word processors, including Word and WordPerfect, can save in RTF format.
Graphically, PageStream still will import and export the commonly used PC and MAC for-
mats. It also uses PostScript, Compugraphic Intellifont and PageStream fonts, and includes
42 fonts as part of the package.
a CyberGraphx compatible system.
A good DTP package should put a huge
array of flexible tools and options in the hands
of the user, yet it has to be suitable for use by
non-technical, creative people. In this respect,
PageStream competes admirably with the best
packages on other platforms, yet alone the
Amiga.
Other platforms
The interface is composed of a title bar, depth
gadget, toolbox and edit palette and, of course,
the working window itself. Text and pictures
can be imported into PageStream, from other
programs (and even other platforms), then
dragVdropped into position on screen. Text
chunks and pictures are contained within
frames with grababie handles that can be used
to resize them. This means viewing docu-
ments, laying them out and formatting them is
as simple and flexible as you could hope for
considering the huge array of options that lie
Amiga Computing
MARCH 1997
below PageStream's tidy surface,
Pretty much everything you needed to create
documents ranging from flyers to whole novels
was included in the previous release of
PageStream. BME, for example, allowed users
to retouch pictures with the included cropping,
rotational and autotracing tools. Similarly,
PageLlner acts as a text editor allowing users to
import and alter text much more quickly than
can be achieved in PageStream itself.
This package really does allow users to gen-
erate professional-quality layouts with all the
tools a designer should expect to have at their
disposal. There is, for example, a range of pow-
erful drawing tools included that allow you to
create boxes, lines, spots and flashes, as well as
freehand paths. Text can then be made to auto-
matically flow round irregular pictures and
objects. Automatic drop caps and bulleted
paragraphs can be inserted from simple
requesters, and there's a selection of gradient,
radial and shape fills at your disposal.
One of the biggest improvements over the
initial release of version 3.0, however, is that the
program is now infinitely more stable. When
the program appeared two years ago it used to
lack up on quite a regular basis, but this prob-
lem was sorted out with a patch a long time
ago. In this release, there have been dozens of
small refinements to make the program run
more smoothly than ever before.
So how about the new fea-
tures? First off, the interface -
while remaining essentially famil-
iar, it has received a few valuabie
alterations. The Toolbox, for exam-
ple, has been given a new crop
tool, neatly separating it from the
Reshape tool under which it pre-
viously could be accessed. The
Magnifier too! has also been
improved - you can now just drag over an
area to zoom in on the desire portion of
the screen - while a new
'Eyedropper' tool allows users to
copy and paste text and object attributes, allow-
ing for faster formatting.
The Toolbar, beneath the working window,
has also received new tools, including buttons
for Play Script and Preferences. The Toolbar is
also now configurable in the Preferences
requester, giving you the option to decide
which menu commands and scripts should be
placed within it If that wasn't enough, there's a
'Show/Hide' command for the Toolbar in the
Window menu, and its position can be remem-
! C^RfaCEH JBE ■Er , R7p E7JSES3C1
. m cs.ict a. a. r» »« i» i». i-
3W
IcWrtjdaJzl^sJiJ^
World of AMIGA
@HsS^B3:
J I
The interface has
been enhanced,
though the pro-
gram remains
familiar
This package really does
allow users to generate
professional-quality lay-
outs with all the tools a
designer should expect
to have at their disposal.
bered by PageStream, Finally, there are also
increase and decrease indent buttons
Graphical flexibility has been enhanced with
new masking features, for example, it's now pos-
sible to mask drawings, EPS pictures and illustra-
tions with whatever shapes you can think up and
draw. Users simply have to select a graphic and
a shape or path and then choose the Mask
Graphic option. Another big difference in this
department is that these and other effects can be
added to pictures in PageStream without editing
the picture in BME - instead, you simply click on
the FX button in the Edit palette. Furthermore,
PageStream now has built-in virtual memory, just
like BME itself, which it uses to load
and print graphics.
The program has for some time
supported bitmap graphic formats
including BMP, GIF, IFF, MacPaint,
PCX and TIFF, as well as outline for-
mats including EPS, Art Expression,
Freehand, Illustrator and ProDraw.
JPEG loading support still doesn't
feature in this prgram itself, but a
separately sold filter is thankfully
available. This filter can now load and
save progressive JPEG images. The export
requester has a Progressive checkbox to turn
this feature on, though it's switched off by default
because many programs do not currently sup-
port Progressive JPEG images.
When laying out anything like a magazine,
even idiots of the design world, like myself, know
that you lay illustrations or titles across double
page spreads to give them increased visual
impact. With the importance of this in mind, Soft-
Logik have made double-sided pages into auto-
matic page spreads; whereas before you had to
manually make facing pages into spreads, now
you can just start designing. In line with this
QOGIKAL PROGRESSION
A whole host of minor refinements and bug fixes aside,
that pretty much brings us up to date with the improve-
ments made to PageStream since version 3 appeared
on the tail end of '94. So what do we think of the Soft-
Logik's progress ?
Certainly there are no revolutionary surprises in this
latest version. While there are dozens of new 'features',
they all basically optimise the interface and develop
tools already in existence. There's nothing radically
new, but then this is more of an update than a com-
pletely new version.
It's been a long wait just to get this far, but it would
be nevertheless unfair to accuse Soft-Logik of sitting on
its thumbs. Though essentially the same program as it
was two years ago, PageStream has at last evolved into
the powerful, intuitive program it promised to be back
then. It's much more stable, and the interface has ben-
efitted from constantly being re-evaluated and refined
to make it work better for the end-user.
Of course, those who stand to make the most of the
latest version PageStream are the ones who've invest-
ed in a RTG board. If you're serious enough about DTP
to invest in a Cybergraphx card and PageStream 3.2,
you're in for a real treat.
PageStream 3.2 stilt comes with BME 2.0,
allowing users to retouch pictures.
However, it -s now possible to work directly
with graphics within PageStream itself
improvement, the New Document requester
includes a facing page checkbox that allows
users to set which pages will be viewed as fac-
ing pages. Incidentally, while on the subject of
spreads, it is possible to drag a page to the bot-
tom of another to start a vertical page spread,
yet another example of PageStream's com-
bined creative flexibility and ease of use.
Easier editing
The process of editing a document has been
improved due to the addition of an Apply but-
ton in the Edit palette. Changes made via this
palette are no longer effected at once; instead,
a batch of alterations can be made to the co-
ordinates, pictures and text frames, and all can
be effected at the same time with the apply
button - a method which actually speeds up
multiple alterations.
One drawback that is becoming more com-
mon with Amiga productivity programs is the
lack of a proper printed manual in the 3.2 box.
Extensive on-line, context-sensitive help is avail-
able, but while this is by far the best way of
looking for small chunks of information, it does
not compare with a proper manual when it
comes to getting an overview of a program.
The lack of a tutorial will be sorely missed by
anyone who want starting off either with DTP or
with Softlogik's product, although the 16 page
overview makes some concessions in this
direction. I did, however, like the idea of the
Navigator tip box which appears every time you
load the product, a feature that help users
assimilate new features bit by bit. Incidentally,
while on the subject of the Navigator, this has
been improved with the introduction of a pref-
erences button, £*?
Bottom
Product details
Product
PageStream 3.2
Supplier
Soft Logik
Price
S:99
Tel
1-800-829-8608 US
Scores
Ease of use
86<>/d
implementation
92%
Value For Money
78%
Overall
88%
Amiga Computing
MARCH 1997
Why so glum chum? Amiga about to
sprout wings and a harp? See if
ACAS can't help
B
OMPUTER NEWBIE
I'm writing to you from Malta. 1 am hoping you will be able to give me some infor-
mation about how a computer works - I only need a few hints. I do not know very
much about computers but this year 1 am going to take some lessons.
I would like a few points so by the time I take the lessons I will know something,
rather than nothing, about computers, I have heard people talk about windows, what
are they and how would you use them? Does this involve the mouse? I hope to hear from
you soon, thanks for your collaboration!
Elaine, B'Bugia Malta
The trouble with trying to describe computers to beginners is that by their very
Y-s/ nature computers are complicated and will remain so for a very long time to
— ' j — come. In some ways, even with all the big advances, they are more compli-
f\J\ cated today than ever before.
Even to give a brief description of the basics of computers would really take
up more space than we have here. It does sound like you know a little already as you
know what a mouse is, and that really you are getting confused when it comes to the soft-
ware that you run with a computer.
When people refer to windows there are two possibilities, one would be the general
term for windows. With modern operating systems programs run on a computer appear in
'windows', these are rectangular areas on the screen that you can move around and change
the size of using the mouse. In these window programs are displayed allowing you to use
them, on the Amiga this window system is called Workbench.
The other reason people may be talking about windows is that they are referring to a
software product made by Microsoft - the latest version is called Windows95. One descrip-
tion is that Windows is a program to run programs, it is the thing that actually draws all the
windows that appear. The one thing you should know is that Windows95 does not run on
an Amiga, to use it you need a PC. It is more than likely that when you start your course
you will be using W1ndows95, so do not be too shocked.
As with everything in life, the best way of learning is to try using your Amiga, you will
comes across problems leam how to over come them and so grow through the processes,
all very Xen.
QlGHTENING THE WAY
I have owned a basic A 1200 with just a 4Mb RAM upgrade and 80Mb
hard drive for the last few years and have been wanting to upgrade it
for a good while now, with thoughts about having a serious go at ray-
tracing. So far 1 have played around creating models and scenes with
various packages but the amount of time renders take has always put
me off.
I have now got access to some extra cash and I'm looking forward to being able
to upgrade my machine, but need some advice on what you suggest I should go
for to get best out of my cash, and hopefully not have to splash out too much
more in the future.
Ted Krilley, Atherton
Raytracing is a real power computer application and the general
advice to give to people is go for the highest specification
equipment you can afford. In your case you will have to
upgrade your processor, memory and hard drive.
Having said that you should also consider the current
market situation. Due to the grotesque requirements of Windows 95
and Windows NT, the price of Simms and IDE hard drives have really crashed.
With regards to memory I would strongly advise you to go for 16Mb, and due
to the fact most A1200 accelerators only allow you to use one Simm, if you
plan to get really serious you may want to go for a 32Mb Simm to keep your
machine future proof.
On the hard drive side of things, again, do not go for anything smaller than
1Gb. Firstly if you start creating large animations even this size of drive will
quickly fill up and secondly, again, 1.2Gb-)- sized drives are now the defacto
PC standard and anything under this can be snatched up very cheaply.
Now for the crunch decision - what accelerator board to go for. The gener-
al advice is go for the fastest you can afford. If you take it that you should go
for a 16Mb Simm and a 1Gb hard drive you should know how much money
you have left To be honest you would be wasting your time with anything less
QC CONNECTION
I need to know if it's possible to hook a PC compatible CD-
ROM drive up to 3n A 1200 - it's a Sony model CDU31A-
GW. As an added complication it's an internal drive. I know
there are kits to convert interna! drives to external for
Amigas, but don't know if it would be compatible. My IDE
connection is already taken up by my hard drive but I under-
stand there is an interface that plugs into the PCMCIA port.
m.kirby2@genie.com
If it is a normal IDE drive with a 39 pin connector then
there's no reason why you can't use it with your
Amiga. Obviously it being an external drive compli-
cates things but it is still possible.
There are two routes you could use the first
is to use Golden Images PCMCIA connector and external fitting
kit. This gives you a PC slot interface into which you can plug an
IDE CD-ROM drive. Their external drive kit is a slot together metal
box that powers the drive via a connector that goes to the exter-
nal floppy connector.
The other option is the one from EyeTech. From them you
would get the either the two or four device connector that allows
you to extend the internal IDE port and an external box with a
proper separate power supply. Both come with the very good
IDEFix software which makes setting up your CD software a
straight forward process.
/
I lf
The nil powerful Lightwave at work, needs as much
memory and processor power as you can afford
than a 50Mhz 030 board.
As an example of rendering times the standard Lightwave texture rendered
at full Pal resolution with antialiasing and adaptive sampling takes 4 minutes
on an 060, almost 18 minutes on an 25Mhz 040 and will a little over half an
hour on the 030 board.
One word of warning is that if you are considering a 40Mhz 040 board,
such as the Apollo, you will have to get a new power supply as the standard
Amiga one cannot handle powering both the accelerator and 3.5" hard drive.
A final point to bear in mind is that Phase5's PowerUp board may actually
appear some time soon, and hopefully will give you a power boost far supe-
rior to anything current accelerators can. At least two raytracing packages are
going to support It, most importantly Cinema4D. So you may consider hang-
ing on for that if you can bear the wait
maxsnmm
MARCH 1997
0TUCK SCSI
Hello, I hope you can give me some hints
where to look for a solution to my prob-
lem. I've got a B2000 with GVP Scsi-
030/33 4mb fast ram and OS 3.1. To this
I've connected, internally, 2 hard drives and
a 88 MB Syqest, the disk configuration are:
Scsi
ID
CHI
Pro;
-s>s 101 lib ant
DH2
Wart
101
lib
Scsi
:;
1 DHD
Sys
2611 Kb and DH3
teres
260
Kb
Scsi
ID
2 Synu
(St
- Term" nat ed
Now to the problem, sometimes the machine after
booting up, or after a while, will give me a message
like:
gvpscsi .device unit 000
unexpected status S4e / $ JS
After clicking OK another window saying:
gvpscsi, device board 000
innslid reseUction
source ID = SSS
After this it says that my work volume, that is SCSI
id has a read/write error on some block. I've only
encountered this problem with my work and pro-
gram partitions, both located on SC51I IDO. So
maybe the hard drive on SCSI IDO is breaking
down?
After this 1 am not able to access any disks, open
any drawers and so on. But all processes already
started seem to run. I have to turn the power off
and on to be able to start, if I just reboot, it just
won't startup. So if someone out there in cyber-
space has a clue to what is wrong please send me
an e-mail, tomas.andesson@hygiene.sca.se
Usually SCSI problems are caused by
\y either incorrect SCSI IDs or some
older SCSI devices not being termi-
//. nated correctly. It results in either
• your machine locking as soon as that
device is accessed or it just being
ignored.
In your case however, it seems that you have
everything set up correctly and that the problem
you have is software based, that being the GVP
Scsi device driver. This is stored on a ROM fitted
to the GVP board. I do know that the German
company Schatitruhe +49(0)201 788778, do sell
more up to date replacement ROMs, called Guru-
CAN PLANS
I am planning to buy a flatbed scan-
. ner - an HP ScanJet - but am
unsure about the necessary soft-
ware. What software do you recom-
mend, and can my trusty old A2000
handle the scans I make? Would you advise
me to upgrade my A2000 to Kickstart 3.0/3,1?
If so, what do I need besides the ROM? I am
using a GVP SCSI series II HD8 SCSI controller
with only 2Mb. I would like to add more mem-
ory and have heard about different types of
4Mb SIMM modules. Which one can I use?
T. Broekmans, Netherlands
I Well as long as you are using
\-s/ Workbench 2.04 I would sug-
— ( V— gest ImageFX v2.6. This has
f—£\ support for many scanners
-* including the ScanJet, and with
its built in virtual memory, even with a small
amount of memory you will be able to han-
dle the largest of scans. To get the best out
of ImageFX you will need 8 Mb of RAM.
Thanks to ImageFX's versatile preview
buffer even with an ECS machine you will be
able to get a decent idea of what the final
image will be like, though the screen update
will be slow. I understand that there is some
new scanner software that has been
■HJ-ZJ J8J lEJipry)
released in Germany, but as I have never
seen it 1 cannot say if this is a good choice.
Upgrading your operating system does
give you a number of advantages. Firstly you
will be able to guarantee you can run all the
latest software (though you only having a
68000 processor could be a problem) and
you get the all the advantages of the new
operating system. If you already have 2.04
then you can get away with not upgrading
but if you are still using 1.3 then virtually all
recent software will not run and you really
should upgrade.
Along with the ROM you need the six sys-
tem disks that hold all the new programs,
libraries and device drivers used by the new
operating system. In the six you will also get
an install disk that will help you partition
and install the software onto your hard
drive.
Usually all GVP products need to use the
specific GVP Simms that look like normal 72
pin Simms but are not and so cost a good
deal more. You will have to get them from
either Power Computing +44 (0)1234
273000 here in the UK or mTec +49 (0)2041
4656 in Germany - the two companies who
bought GVP when they went bankrupt
h? ScanJet j
PTe»;. |
01
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Not only does
ImageFX support the
HP ScanJet it mill
also make use of the
last SCSI interface
Device (sestjeteviee
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Prefs
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a Design Ire ., M FSgWs Reserved
ROM, the latest version being six and gives you a
big boost in CPU performance. As you are on the
Internet check their home page for more infor-
mation http://www.schatztruhe.de/
largon
SCSI - Small Computer Systems Interface, a more com-
plex interface than IDE allowing afl manner of periph-
erals lo be connected to it and as many as seven
devices
PCMCIA - That thin siot on the side of an A1200 and
A600, know to be known as a PC slot, as everyone got
really ticked of having to say PCMCIA slot all the time.
Allows memory, hard drives and almost any other type
of device to connected the computer
IDE - Integrated Drive Electronics, the hard drive inter-
face found on A600, Al 200 and A4000. The cheapest
way to get a hard drive connected to a computer
Kickstart - The software used to actually start the
Amiga, this has to be either loaded from disk or also
refers to the part of the Amiga's operating system held
on ROM
Raytradng - A technique used in computer graphics to
create realistic images by calculating the paths taken
by rays of light entering the observer's eye at different
angles. The paths are traced backwards from the view-
point, through a point in the image plane, that point
being a pixel, until they hit some object in the scene or
go off to infinity
••
Do you have a problem? Do you sometimes find your-
self poised over your Amiga with axe in hand, spout-
ing profanity at the stubborn refusal of your software
or hardware to behave in the correct manner?
Well, calm down and swap the axe for pen and
paper, jot down your problems, along with a descrip-
tion of your Amiga setup, and send it off to Amiga
Computing Advice Service, IDC Media, Media House,
Adlington Park, Macclesfield SK10 4NP. Alternatively
you can e-mail us at ACAS@acomp.demon.co.uk
Amiga Computing
MARCH 1997
LIAGE INTERNATIONAL
36 Dye Street Garnerville, NY 10923
914 786-1711 Voice - 914-786-1708 Fax
Email: liagct^qed.net
Homepage: http://www.qed.net/liageinc/
1-800 25 AMIGA
Outside N.Y.
NEW1I
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THIS SOUNDS TERRIFIC!
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BOTH FOR $18.95
GAMERS' DELIGHT 2
This CD contains 1.IJ70 games, from all different
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This CD will hold you captivated for hours.
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no public domain.
LIAGE PRICE $19.95
SCI-FI SENSATION DOUBLE CD
Featuring over KlOOmb of exciting Science Fiction
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AMINET SET 1
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AMINET SET 2
Offers everything added after Aminct #2. Plus
300 Electronic Books. 4 Gigabytes 12,500
archives.
AMINET SET 3
The Worlds largest Amiga Software Collection.
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$29.95 EACH SET, ANY 2 FOR
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THE LEARNING CURVE CD
A KinUMic & Musical [emmey through exciting subject* con-
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3D CD OBJECTS
3D CD IMAGES
$11.99 Each
AEGIS ANIMATOR
Includes Aegis Images Paint System, put your
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Over 4,000 colors. $3.95
ANIME BABES
Over 5000 Erotic Hand Drawn Images in The Japanese
ANIME Tradition. This CD is Generic GIF Format allowing
display on any System with a CD ROM
LIAGE SPECIAL PRICE $16.95
BREATHLESS
A 1200/4000
Experience 360 degree first person firepower in
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SPECIAL LIAGE PRICE $12.95
ARCADE CLASSICS PLUS CD
Arcade Classics Plus contains hundreds of varia-
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AMINET 15 or 16 $17.95
THE EPIC INTERACTIVE
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This New CD is an Exciting new Multi-Media
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Export data to printer or file and use il in your own
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add your own subject matter.
LIAGE SPECIAL $45.95
WOMEN OF THE WEB
This new CD is an exciting multi-media experience
bringing all the latest technology into your home.
The CD is compiled in HTML formal. Using pic-
tures, text, files, animations and sound samples. Over
450 iMB of the world's most beautiful women.
SPECIAL $3 1.95
MEETING PEARLS IV
Brand new in the latest Meeting Pearls Series.
This edition offers the highest quality at the low-
est possible price. Filled with high quality well
tested software. Several different search tools
make finding and executing of software packages
straight from the CD a Snap
LIAGE SPECIAL PRICE $12.00
GFX SENSATIONS
Welcome to the best collection of graphic tools ever on
CD. 24 Bit images, animations such as lumpgate. The
Apache 3D Helicopter and the Space Animation by
Samuel Rees. A huge collection of Imagine users - that will
lake you years to go th tough. Categories include: Anatomy,
Animals, AKexx, Aviation, Bathroom, Botany, Building,
Clocks, Computers, Earth, Fonts, Food, Furniture.
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Over 10,000 files. 500 Original 24 Bit Images (with con-
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Mono 93 Scalcabie Clips. 195 Standard Fonts & 120
Colored 107 Adobe, 79 CG, & 80 PS Fonts, 750 Music
Modules & 23011 Samples and Much More. Amiga & PC
Compatible.
SPECIAL PRICE $8.99
MULTIMEDIA TOOLKIT 2
DOUBLE CD
A Double CD Rom sei geared to the Music & Video
Professional. Contains over 1.2 Gigs of the very best
Graphics & Sound. Provides absolutely outstanding
quality. Includes the full version ofOctamed 4.0-1 along
with 250 megs of support samples and Mods from the
Med User Group. Over 50 Megs of MidiCraft Midi,
Music X, Over 500 24 Bit Graphic Images. Contains over
2,000 objects.
LIAGE SPECIAL $21.95
ARTWORX CD
Comprises Thousands of Images Computer Generated.
Both Images & Clip Art in Color. The Images have been
categorised making it easy to find just the right image
for your use. Super CD,
SPECIAL PRICE $10.95
Comprises of thousands of Color Images & Clip Art
CHILDRENS' CORNER
All Floppy Titles
IHlily's Sporting Darts
Dinos Detective Agency
High Steel
Huckleberry Hound
Playdays Paint
Postman Pat 3
Operation Hormuz
Snapperazzi
Booty's Fun with Number:
Sooty & Sweep
Thomas The Tank Engine $6.99
Thomas's Fun with Words $6.99
NOTE
Add $5.50 Minimum for shipping (UPS Service)
Within the USA. International orders must use Credit
Card, or International Money Order.
All prices subject to change, subject to stock on hand.
NY residents subject to state tax.
VISA/MO DISC/ AM. EXPRESS
Weird Science Ltd. I Rowlandxnii Close. Leicester. Leicestershire. l£4 2SE
Tel. +VJ 0)116 2.U 0682 Fax. +44 mild 235 0045
email. saU's(i'wt"irdscit"ttce.ct).uk or techC" wcirdscience.co.uk
Ml nninu
J J JJJJ J J
a ljl
y/vvvv.y/^irchjcierice.co.uii
Imiu.i Vi / .'. dated July 1996, consists of 4
gigabytes "} software in U M&Q archives.
including the l»H version* »{ Imagine 4JB,
KiPaini 32, Octamcd 5J3. With 95 megs
Utilities, 79 megs Documents., 408 megs
TertSofiware, 12 megs Dhk.IlD Toots, ?
megs Hardware related, 756 megs
Pictures ■£ Xnundtians, 208 megs
Graphics software:, 394 megs Graphic*.
A. Sound Demos, 563 megs Games.
635 megs Musit modulex, 28 megs
Music toflware, 131 megs
Communications nut} marc.
The Amiga System Booster
enables users, to really make the most
of their computers with a sttpet
collection of tools to push th
capabilities of the Amiga to tht
limits. Nearly all the fantastic
utilities can be started hv simptv
direct from the compact disc. A
de-archiving required. The th
contents include a vast
collection of screen blanket?
mouse tools <fc commodities,
backup, file management,
cache programs to optimise
system performance , data
recovery, CD-ROM utilities, j
kilters ami a whole
ho\t mi
1U
iJj\\i\±$ £3-5" J
o ZJ
mi.
immt i Set I <>,- J. consist of 4 gigabytes nf
taftwarein f 2 flOQ archives. The software is
on four compact discs. With I tauies,
Documents, Text Software, Disk Hit Tools .
Hardware related. Pictures & Animation*.
Graphics wfiware, Graphics A Sound
"Vfflfli, Games, Music modules, Musk:
jftware. Communications, Amiga
tr velapm tut i aft ^ are, II a i uie s i
software and nsort. ill of the archives
arc easily accessible with a simple
tndt i menu system with search.
The Amiga Developers CD from
Amiga Technologies] comes complete
with the ail the developers loots and
docs, provided tn the official
developers. Included arc the
complete CD* 2 developers tools
with Build ( D om! ISO CD. Envoy
2.ii package . Enforcer,
Workbench 2M : 3M, .1.1 tools and
documents with the updated
native developers kit. SANA II
package and the installer
package. Also included is a
vast amount of info, A. r-.ts.-f.
Wm
J -JaZJZJ
Vtagk Pubfbhtr comprises oi feat i impact •!'■•■■
oathuimiqatC04iQMM mt vigfuideU you no
create prnftni'ittal lt>->hnti tir*rartttn(\. Thtrt an n
I. (Cottar Font* II ••nap. IFF. \d
tnUttifotti.. Truttypt X !>\U . man <-.■
Many a{ thc< arr rn Jjm/i.- tit fktt compact dot .
trcktt wentoas of Finei Writer 4 5£
■artk4TDart tnrttttlrJ. Sort ralrddi snraf *
m- tm sh. \niita. fWi f»r anting H
SH^f 'J OSi ^jyJJSi- •'■'■:,
i*^
(nek Gadgets contains virtually all of
du foots you need to get started
programming on the Amiga,
including advanced C, C++,
Fortran and ADA compilers.
assembler, linker. EMACS editor.
"make " , source code control
systems (res & civ;, text and file
utilities, GNL debugger, text
formatters (groff & ieX). and
much more. Everything comes
with Complete source code and
all binaries have been
compiled from the supplied
sources. All tools on the
Geek Gadgets CD can be
run directly from the CD-
ROM, without the need to
install any files on to your
Hard Drtvt .
The Amiga Kepait Kit CD comes
complete with the alt with all the
tools required to backup and rescue
four precious data on hard drives.
y, : - J wilt rescue and
restore most damaged, corrupt and
even deleted files from poppies,
hard disks etc. During the
process it will attempt to ftx all
problems caused by software
failures itr physical damage,
is a superb
program that will allow you to
restore your valuable data
even if the Rigid Disk lihtek
has been destroyed or over
written. F -ttZV.V'y can
recover files from normal
or corrupted disks.
.:-j/Jj£LL
itnintt, the worlds largest Amiga archive, provides compact discs of the
sites latest software uploads. Each volume contains about I J gigs of
archives with a superb menu system for un-arctiiving the files and a .
simple search facility lo help you find exactly the file required. The .
search facility will even list the compact disc that the file is on. The
latest A mi net CD's contain a theme. The Aminct 16 theme is music jjfcj
modules. Aminet IS is available now and so is Auiinet 16. 5fc ;
' jH Aminet CDs 12 to 14 an oho still available.
.}j\h\EI 112/ X&JiJ^iS JjJ JF&.
jdli'Jitf
18,000 music mud',
arranged of Jour compact discs
sorted by composer, groups and ty
A It stared ready to use from the comp
discs. Provided with ft megs of Mod
lists and 25 megs of module players
many different computer platfori
This 7 years titanic work provides ovt
l/JGO hours of music enjoyment alt
with information on may of ,
composers whose work is featured.
Internationa
■C
j&uimm.
GTi
Granville Trading International (imbK
Garl-Zriss-Str. 9
79761 Waldshut-Tiengen. Germany
TeL +4V 7741 BWrt
Fax +49 7741 830438
i-'.m.iil: .;mit!_ j .;if" gttgwmany.cora
The Euro ( D contains a vast variety of
programs and data for the Amiga in
the Aminet mould. However this CD
differentiates itself by hare the
contents ready to run without de-
archiving. The contents include
Animations J6 megs. Commercial
21 megs, Dana's ft5 megs, Disk
tools 12 megs, fonts /^ megs*
Games 57 megs. Misc. ft megs.
Modules 110 megs. Music 2 1
megs. Objects 12 megs. Pictures
IIS megs. Presentations 23 megs.
Printer I meg. Programs 2J
megs. Samples 4 megs. System
Ift megs. Text files 26 megs.
Utilities 36 megs and \ id ides 3
megs. Full English docs, and
menus. ^ '£*__
*Dj'
to
r-r
feWS
; mcuiom ot/r w-rm-wrr
J- J^Jxi^J J^.f
Getting an Amiga connected to the Internet is one of
the most difficult la^hs due to the complex
mstailatioD routines ofAmSTCPandthe lark of any
real guidance. Not only nil! this situation change
but you trill now be able to gei connected to the
internet and the WWW without a hard drive or the
complicated setting up of the software. Our extensive
networking skills have realty been put to the test
providing a simple connection from a compact disc
providing a pleasant introduction and connection In
the internet. Most of the difficult setting up is done
automatically far you with the connection program
provided: All titat is required is the answers to a few
sbnple questions* hi addition the CD contains all the
tooh required for both the beginner and expert, full
instructions on getting connected and mony very
helpful documents on the internet and WWW. The
toots include AniiTCP, Mail, FTP, WWW and many
more. In addition there is a section on WWW page
creation with clip art and creation tools, liasy Hard
Drive installation passible hut not required.
^4^
The teaming Curve CD jttteoib a r.inuiviic iind-mj
■ ■
*2.0(Ki file* ihtt title \\t\\ deligfe ami vah
if;\i'iMi\ .nv! qtiantil
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IVi UHi'in ll . :iI;J.i i \\mik l \ :..
am ■-■ J l m ihc'Amrpa and
virlualh non-cxi>tettf, ^-cU now \ou hs
produnive cnicfiainmcni for'ill ages.
i\Ili
J j J £j
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i;ii;j] journey rhn
Ami.;.! CD. Comaming nwi
n nh llir vail j *"
ifonmiii.iul prognuris ' "'"'■' , -'"
: kiiii|).h I ili<c wilh """";>'"'■
H Htrlri'niry
l \ ^ondStudin has arrived. With fabulous
t- £\ '"'"' .h* ilitrt ■•> ititfiiditifi fall mixing
0^ facilities, save modules as samples,
notation editor {with printing}, 6-1
channels, new raids commands, more
Toccata s u p part . no v a mple i i z i
limits, UiMmt-ai faviiily und mitre,
SfruutlSttiditi ha* lifted Amiga
music creation :» w*h heights .
t-r auditioned
t»,
. .■ r'i,.-,;i,Yr -. 1 POfM m,'|, £0(111 4
12411 It I ■.,..;:■.
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"/'/»' aH'flr*if winning Multimedia
Experience provided for users to
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With tke new low price oil
users eon start multimedia.
Tin ( ard Garni s ( l> contains a pfetho,
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sets read) ut ran from the VI). Games
include blackjack. Cabbage, <•*«
Rummy, Casino, Chew, b&ard
games, puzzles, Slot machines,
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I superb and involving CD.
.. «. \/ulti-\!i,!ii
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jtolvm art ,. .i'ru'un,! rn lltr IK.
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list editor, import nm wb/etti and
prinrjgrU
VJ.M -'-5 5J4C BiltimsmBDiA
bJZ}i J^jlhlZl ZL> rljli lull! Z ij^jit U?l)il illL£^= 11 JLUJI
Jl£515J3iihJS rLtJl ^ 5UmH&ynL>iL ^ =^iJ jJ 1JJ 2D 3
ACC5S3j 7J^i ii ^j'Jrf'Jrl J75LCOM2
UK POSTAGE IS £1.00 FOR THE FIRST ITEM AND
50P EACH EXTRA ITEM. OVERSEAS IS DOUBLE.
yji : J ILL ?S1153 ubiib}} ^LJ
[^M I NET 15
Since the last Laser Guidance, two Aminet CDs
have plopped onto the Amiga Computing
doormat: Aminet 15, the November Aminet
release, and Aminet 16 the Christmas release.
Each release has a certain theme, and the
focus of Aminet 15 is music and animation.
One helluva lot of music and animation in fact
In its uncompressed form there is over ICb of
software on the CD, including 1 24 Mb of glori-
ously over the top trippy animations with
accompanying dance music There are 143
MPEG animations and a number of excellent
five minute animated films which look exactly
like those 4-mations shorts they show on
Channel 4. The pick of the crop is the lovably
stupid 'Alien Space Vampire' animation.
As usual the Aminet CD contains a number
of games, and along with the usual shoofem-
up clones, space invaders copies and primitive
PD platformers, Aminet 1 5 contains a demo of
a game called Genetic Species. It really does
have to be seen to be believed - 1 would stick
my neck out and say that it is almost worth
buying the CD for th.s game alone.
Genetic Species is a very sophisticated
Doom done that looks utterly professional but
was in fact created by a small group of Danish
coders calling themselves Ambrosia. I can safe-
ly say that Genetic Species, even in its early
form, is the best Doom/Quake clone I have
seen on the Amiga.
The inclusion of a Genetic Species demo on
the CD could be something of a coup because
Ambrosia have agreed to collaborate with the
Amiga games giant Vulcan to develop the
game. If all goes according to plan. Genetic
Species could be one of the most successful
games in the Amiga's recent history. Aminet
offers you the chance to own an early demo
months before the finished product comes out.
There are a ton of pictures on the CD, rang-
ing from interesting little presentations, films
and pictures (such as the ace bird changing
into a plane morph) to the obligatory dull ren-
derings of the starship Enterprise drawn no
doubt by people who spend every hour of the
day watching Deep Space Nine reruns and
swotting up on their Klingon warrior curses in
ill lit bedrooms.
I
Hugh Poynton sifts through
the latest Amiga CD releases
I found the CD fascinating and, although
perhaps a little less useful than the average
Aminet CD in terms of business software and
the like, it is certainly a great deal more fun. For
anyone with an interest in animation or com-
puter generated music, this CD is a must, as it
includes music modules and software and
some pretty good quality dance tracks.
If you're after business software, buy Aminet
14, but if you want a genuinely interesting and
fun CD that'll keep you browsing for hours, go
for Aminet 15.
Botto m
line
Product
DETAILS
Product:
Aminet 15
Supplier:
Epic CD Roms
Price:
£12.99
Phone:
0181 873 0310
Amiga Computing
MARCH 1997
Qminet 16
This is Ami net's Christmas release - you can tell
because those loveable Ami net fellas have
stuck a big bell and some holly on the front.
Somebody must be slipping something into the
Aminet office water supply because, like the
previous Aminet CD, this one also focuses on
arty stuff as opposed to dusty old database
packages.
As with all the CDs there is the usual collec-
tion of useful, interesting and fun software. The
onus here is on music modules - there are a
total of 367 Mb of music mods on Aminet 16. A
word of warning however, many of the mod-
ules on Aminet 16 have been taken from the
Modules Anthology Vol 1 CD, so this CD won't
1 . ■■ 1
i:; A
•— • " i • ;•
£t
^^^o
Is this your car? If so t you are vary sad
Qde
It has always been said that one of the key
strengths of the Amiga is that it is essentially a
hobbyists machine, and that programming soft-
ware can be relatively inexpensive and simple in
comparison to PCs or the like. Geek Gadgets from
Cronus Software intends to capitalise on this fact
With a name like Geek Gadgets you just know
this CD is going to be intimidating and techie.
Despite this, Geek Gadgets is an impressive and
useful piece of software; it contains the Amiga
Developers Environment or (ADE). ADE is a pro-
ject undertaken by Cronus to adapt a number of
the most important and useful development tools
and utilities for the Amiga.
If you want to start programming on the Amiga
then this is definitely the CD for you. All the nec-
essary tools are here; C, C++, assembler, linker,
ADA Compilers and GNU debugger are present as
well as dozens more. There are also beta test ver-
sions of upcoming ports such as the X Window
System.
To simplify things Cronus have complied the
CD so that there is no need to install any of the
files to your hard drive - they can be accessed
directly from the CD.
Bott om
line
Product
DETAILS
Product:
Geek Gadgets - ADE
Supplier-
Weird Science
Price;
£19.95
Phone;
0116 234 0682
extend your catalogue much.
Games-wise Aminet 16
is quite unremarkable
Because of the incredible
Genetic Species demo
on the Aminet 15 CD,
this doesn't have a '
chance of living up to its
predecessor as far as
games are concerned.
However, mixed in with
the retro Space Invaders
clone and primitive platform
ers is a demo of a Wipeout clone
called Slipstream. Although there are
no other ships flying about the beautifully
rendered course with you, the demo is still a
good laugh. The graphics are very impressive,
although admittedly rather jerky.
Other than music modules there are lots of
pictures (279 Mb) and the usual amount of
other stuff, totalling about 900Mb of files. The
pictures range from the interesting and impres-
sive to the unbelievably dull. One stands out in
particular - some guy has taken about 10 pho-
tographs of his remarkably unremarkable
dodgy Japanese motor (the sort that they pro-
duced by the million in the 70s and 80s, rusty
little tin cans with the aerodynamics of a breeze
block and cheesy names like Colt or
Sunrise). These photographs
show his pride and joy (oo er)
from every conceivable angle.
Strange.
There is also the usual selec-
tion of demos, graphics soft-
ware and communications
stuff. This is basically your aver-
age useful, good quality Aminet
CD. It's stuffed with a load of use-
ful software that will no doubt come
in handy at some time. However, it
doesn't blow your socks off like the last
one did.
Aminet 16 is
packed with
quality artwork
like this
Bottom
Product
DETAILS
Product:
Aminet 16
Supplier:
Epic CD Roms
Price:
£12.99
Phone:
0181 873 0310
EJeetinc pearls iv Bottom
Amiga Technologies certainly knew why it chose the Meeting- Pearls
III as a freebie to be included with their Q-Drive. Everyone who knows
the Meeting-Pearls series will confirm it offers highest quality at the
lowest possible price - and this hasn't changed with volume IV. This
time also, only high-quality and well-tested software pearls have
found their way onto this crammed CD. A clever system has been
devised to protect the lovers of Amiga games from many undesired
crashes. Several different search tools (based on MUI and
AmigaGuide) make finding and executing of software packages
straight from the CD a snap. With the Meeting-Pearls CDs, no archives
need to be unpacked - all programs can conveniently be started from the Workbench. For the first time, protection
bits, which used to get discarded during CD-ROM production, are preserved.
As was the case with earlier volumes, access tools have been improved noticeably. There is probably no other Amiga
CD that can be configured according to personal preference in so many aspects - but fortunately doesn't require the
user to do so.
QJMIGA DEKTOP VIDEO 2
line
Product
DETAILS
Product:
Meeting Pearls IV
Supplier:
Epic CD Roms
Price:
£9.99
Phone:
0181 873 0310
Almathera is back, with a follow up to the acclaimed Amiga
Desktop Video. The Amiga Desktop Video sold out shortly
after its release in 1995 and there is no reason to suspect
that the follow up won't repeat the success of the original.
Whereas the original Amiga Desktop Video focused
more on 3-D images, the second CD concentrates on 2-D
presentation and titling, with more
commercial uses.
Included on CD2 is about every-
thing you will need to produce your
own video presentation with back-
ground sound and music It offers
over 200 antialiased colourfonts,
up to 250 point and above, with
PostScript versions.
The complete Scala 1.13 is also
present on the CD, complete with
an upgrade path to the more mod-
Product details
Product:
Amiga Desktop Video 2
Supplier:
Almathera
Price:
£14.95
Phone:
0181 687 0040
em version, Scala MM400. Version 1.13 is ready-to-run
from CD and can utilise all fonts, animation and 16-colour
textures supplied on ADTV2.
Amiga Desktop Video CD2 also includes licensed musi-
cal tracks from various Amiga demo scene musicians and
the required applications to play them. Other features on
the CD include clip-animation
streams ideal for use on presenta-
tions and current releases of video
utilities and graphics processing
tools including NetPBM and
MainActor. At £14.95, this is an
excellent value package to start you
off if you're new to Amiga video
work - every aspect of Video pre-
sentation seems to be covered.
Even if you are an expert, DTV2 still
contains some useful material.
Bottom
line
Amiga Computing
MARCH 1997
WHILE-U-WAIT! '
■- Call us for latest
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All hard drives are pre-formatted, partitioned with Workbench
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3365 Detiise £900 8364 Paula A600/A1200 £16.50
8373 Super Denise £18.00 Video 0AC A1500 £19,00
5719 Gary £750 A600/A1200 Keyboard £60,00
8520 CIA A50O/A50O+ £1500 Lisa A1200 £35.00
8364 Paula A50O/A500+ £12,00 GayleAMXVAISOO £25.00
Kickstart ROM VI .3 £15,00 Budgie A1200 £30.00
Kickstart ROM V2.D4 £22.00 Mouse (290dpi) £15,00
Kickstart ROM V2.05 £29.00
A5OOA50O+ Keyboard £50,00
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68000 Processor £800 Printer Cable
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A1200 without Hard Drive £299.95
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A1 200 with 170Mb Hard Drive.£379.95
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* Call for more 3ood deals
ANALOG Analogic Computers (UK) Ltd
ANALOGIC Unit 6, Ash way Centre, Dm Crescent
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Open Mon-Fri 8.00am • 5.30pm, Sat 9.00am - 5.00pm Fax: 0181 541 4671
Tel: 0181 546 9575
* All prices include VAT * All prices and specifications subject to change without notice * fixed charge far repair does not include disk drive/keyboard
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All sales/repairs arc only as per our terms and conditions, copy available on request
I Mad as a March hare,
takes a look at the many letters
sent in by you, the readers.
CD
PGRADE NOW
I have been an Amiga user for nearly 4 years and have been on a low income
for most of that time. When I read in magazines about other people saying it's
too expensive to upgrade their Amigas, I have to laugh. In the past two years
I have bought for my Al 200 ( nearly 4 years old and not a mishap ) a Blizzard
AI230MklV(179 including a free game), 8mb ram under 100, Power CD-ROM
179, B50mb Seagate hd 110 and a 33600 modem 119 and Internet connection.
As you can see I now have a much more powerful Amiga for about half the price of a PC. 1
have had more fun out of upgrading it myself than if I'd gone to a PC box shifter, got it home
and then found out I had to pay a lot more for graphics cards etc to do the same things the
Amiga can do for half the price. So, it can be done. Nobody ever said computing was a cheep
hobby - but it can be if you shop around.
Ian McDonald macca@enterprise.net
P.S Cet Netted Or Cet Left Behind ;-)
Good for you. Let's hope others will decide to follow suit If people have
high-spec Amigas it may encourage more development - especially on the
gg. games front as it gives the developers more to work with. Take for instance
A the Doom clones that required more powerful machines - I'm sure they
impressed those other than Amiga users. And I'm sure upgrading isn't nearly as
expensive as many people think.
TOP YOUR MOANING
I've never written to ESP
before as my ponderings
have always been
answered by some other
like-minded soul before I
could put pen to paper. This
time though I've had enough. Why do people
write in moaning all the time? This is the one
thing that will put half-hearted users off!
If I was flicking through a PC magazine
and the readers pages were constantly harp-
ing that 'the end was nigh', 1 wouldn't touch
a PC with a barge pole. Potential users are
(easily) influenced by information from all
sources so if the people who use the
machine are flaming it what hope is there?
The market is shrinking but it's not half as
bad as some of these turncoats would have
you believe. I co-run an Amiga User Group
and PD library in the North West and in our
first year of operation we have attracted a
new member virtually every week.
Visitors to the club are predominately from
within a 5 mile radius and if this is extrapo-
lated, it's safe to assume there are still thou-
sands of active Amiga followers up and down
the country. Most are what you would call
typical Amiga users - innovative and enthusi-
astic - but it is becoming increasingly obvi-
ous that a lot are new to computers in gen-
era! and they have bought Amigas second
hand.
In short, the Amiga audience has changed
but not gone away completely. I mean, let's
face it, nobody throws away their old Amigas
- there are still hundreds of thousands of
them out there. We just have to wait until
they filter through to the people who want to
use them.
Consider the recent events to be stream-
lining - we are simply getting rid of the 'band-
wagonners' - the people who used their
l/2mb A500's when it was trendy to do so.
We will be left with a core of hi-specced ded-
icated fans that are happy with what they've
got and as a result the user base will not
shrink further.
Simon Brown Email -
simon@ssomiga.warp.co.uk
For details of the user group, please write
to:
S&S Amiga User Croup, 79 Woodnook Road
Appley Bridge,, Wigan, Lanes, WN6 9JR
I can understand people
wanting to whinge about
the current situation - we
. just want to see the Amiga
J bought and in the hands of
someone who wants to do
something positive with the platform.
However, it's a very good point you are
making about the new users who have
bought an Amiga second hand.
I think a lot of people new to computing
are picking up AI200's for around £100
and wanting to get as much information as
possible on their new machine. It doesn't
help when they find out that many users
are constantly moaning about the Amiga
market and current situation. The more
new users we can attract at the moment,
the better.
Write in!
If you have something you need to
get off your chest then put,
pen to paper and write to
ESP, Amiga Computing,
Media House, Adlington
Park, Macclesfield, SK10
4NP. You can also Email
us at ESP@acomp.
demon.co.uk We have various software bundles to give away for the
best letters (please indicate whether you'd prefer serious software or
games). We do try to reply to all Emails and letters, but at busy peri-
ods this is sometimes not possible so please bear with us
i
CTION
REPLAY
When I first read in your
magazine that Amiga
Action would be incorpo-
rated into Amiga
Computing, I was quite
worried. I can't say that I am
an avid fan (although 1 do enjoy the occa-
sional new release) and I was concerned
that the whole magazine would be over-run
with infantile games coverage - sorry, but I've
seen past issues of Amiga Action, and I don't
want to see my £4.50 a month wasted on
Horse posters.
However, 1 was pleasantly surprised when
I saw the new games section because:
1 : It is roughly the same size as System
2: The pages are bright and colourful and
breaks up the magazine nicely
3: You have managed to bring in more fea-
tures which will help keep the market alive
(I've noticed that many mags just fill in space
with reviews of inferior games).
I just have a few grumbles though (you
knew they were coming, didn't you?). I
would like to see some kind of Action chart
included which rounds up the best releases
of the last few months - I don't buy many
games but it would be nice to be able to see
at a glance which I should go for when I do
make a purchase. Also, I think it would help
in a review to compare a game to a classic
game in the same genre • whether it is bet-
ter or not and so on. Just a suggestion...
George Preston, Derby
Thanks for your comments.
I've passed them on to our
resident games guru who'll
see what he can do - keep
an eye on future issues.
Amiga Computing
MARCH 1997
Hoops
s
TILL SUPPORTING
Delighted as I was to find our
company, Almathera, listed
as one of the members of
the "Amiga Elite Support
Squad" in the article on
Heroes and Villains in your
January 97 issue, I'd like to take issue with a
couple of points.
Firstly, you said "Photogenics was an
image manipulation package". That is indeed
the case, but why the past tense?
Photogenics is an image manipulation pack-
age, which we will continue to support for as
long as we possibly can. I'm sure this was a
simple slip of grammar, but I'd like to reas-
sure your readers that we haven't
stopped supplying or supporting
Photogenics.
Secondly, you said Photogenics
was programmed by Paul Nolan.
While it is true that Paul Nolan wrote the
original program on which Photogenics was
initially based, it would be unfair not to men-
tion those who spent 18 months of their
lives (including myself!) making Photogenics
the package you know and iove today.
So, for the record, Photogenics was
designed and programmed by Kriss Daniels,
Jason C. Doig, Paul Nolan, Jolyon Ralph and
Keith Smith, with help from many others
inside and outside of Almathera. Writing and
supporting Photogenics was, and is, truly a
team-effort and I thank you for this opportu-
nity to put the record straight.
Jolyon Ralph - Almathera
I
"3
Sorry for any confusion on
this matter, I'm sure your
letter has set the record
straight
Ami5A i
Amiga I Atniga
AmigA [ Amiga
urmnroMea
Medtan
MtxCoSotr
Negative /
Noise /
Paper /
PermecJ''
In December 1996, while I was awaiting the next load of Amiga magazines
at my local magazine shop, I noticed the demise of Amiga Shopper and
Amiga Gamer CD32. A sudden cold shiver caught my body. When I took a
look at the size of your magazine (still excellent, by the way), I realised that
this could be the start of the end! So this Inval Dutch reader wants to tell you
something.
It's not that I am negative, but I am living in a country with the highest software piracy
rate and the lowest means of buying Amiga stuff. After the announcement of Commodore,
many of my local shops suddenly stopped supplying Amiga hardware and software and
(most of all) service. It started to make me worry about the future of one of the finest
machines ever.
Lots of friends turned towards the PC - "Because the games and hardware should be bet-
ter and cheaper". Though ! do not agree (and 1 will NEVER sell my trusty A2000 and CD32),
it is happening more and more. This also made me worry.
So why is this take over taking so long? Why are the liquidators such a pain - don't they
see that they are slowly destroying a fine piece of tpchnology? And again, these ques-
tions worry me.
I think the best way is to keep going and hoping that the VIScorp deal will be
done soon, so new developments can start right away. And to all those Amiga freaks
out there who feel the same but want to step to the PC platform, I would like to ask
them: Why should you?
All necessary and serious software is available on the Amiga as well. So that may not be
the reason. Better games, faster programs? Only when you buy a state of the art Pentium
200 MHz with lots of memory, hard disk space, expensive and fast graphics cards, SVGA
multi-sync monitors and all for a 'bargain price' of £1,200? Don't make me laugh!
So my advice: Think twice and ask yourself if you really need it. Do the things you want
with the things you have and support you favourite machine as long as possible.
^^ Tom "a bit worried" Broekmans (NL)
Start of the end - I certainly hope not! It is inevitable however, that as
_J people desert to the PC, there are going to be fewer people to read the
magazines which is why some have had to close. It's unfortunate that
Amiga Computing has, along with many other Amiga mags, had to drop in
size. However, we will continue to support the many loyal Amiga users out
there with best quality magazine we can - as well as considering other projects such as
bringing Amiga Computing on-line (as well as producing the print magazine).
Yes, it is frustrating that no deal has yet been finalised for the purchase of the Amiga
- 1 don't think the liquidators are slowing things down on purpose and I'm sure they
want to see the deal finalised. However, we may have to wait a while longer as the deal
is no longer as clear cut as it once appeared (see news story last issue). There are other
contenders who are hoping to buy the Amiga - which at least shows how much the
machine is still wanted!
I think other readers should take note of what you say though - why go and buy a PC
when you can do everything you need to with your Amiga? Hang in there for just a while
longer and wait and see what happens - we could be richly rewarded.
tl
Piioia^L'iwfjs. still strongty
supported by Almathera
Balling all
Would you be interested in getting the full version of
Amiga Computing Magazine delivered straight to your
computer screen? We are considering bringing out a
subscription service that delivers the current, full mag-
azine straight onto the Internet. No more waiting for
the postman or having to walk down to the shops.
What's more, as well as getting the same content as
you would in the print magazine, you will also be able
to download everything that is on the coverdisks. And
you don't even have to spend a fortune online to get
all this - we will make it possible to download the
magazine all at once, enabling you to read it at your
leisure. Plus, we are considering other features includ-
ing extensive review archives, Amiga-specific chat
rooms and technical advice by Email columns.
So at the moment all we need to know is "Would
you be Interested?". It won't happen if you're not
You're not committing to anything - all we need to get
is a feel for the number of people who'd like such a
service. Expected cost for such a subscription could be
between S3 and S5 per month depending on the num-
ber of extra features added. It will be available world-
wide.
Just by telling us your opinion on this, you will be
entered into a free draw where you could win lots of
goodies.
Win!
Software ! IBrowse andDigita Organiser
Books ! Internet International Directory
Games ! Pinball Illusions, Pinball Mania,
Pinball Fantasies
Simply Email tinah@idg.co.uk, type in your opinion,
how much you would pay for such a service and any
ideas you'd like us to incorporate, Or write to AMC
Online, IDG Media, Media House, Adlington Park,
Macclesfield, Cheshire, SK10 4NP.
Amiga Computing
MARCH 1997
0181 345 6000
Facsimile 0181 345 6868
18-22 Sterling Way, North Circular Road, Edmonton, London N18 2YZ
>NDON'S AMIGA
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MEMORY SIMMS
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nemory
for all ram cards & accelerators
made
for Amiga computers A500, A600,
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30PIN SIMMS1MB
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£22
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£65
32MB
£119
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WE SELL HARD DRIVE FOR
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£334.88
4GIG INT SCSI
£600.00
£705.00
730MB EXT SCSI
£130.00
£152.75
1.2MB EXT SCSI
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£257.33
2MB EXT SCSI
£300.00
£352.50
4MB EXT SCSI
£650.00
£763.75
8MB EXT SCSI
£999.00
£1173.83
IDE 3.5"
BEST BUYS
420MB
850MB
£129
1.3GIG
£149
1.7GIG
£169
2.5GIG
£195
3.2GIG
£249
CD ROM & WRITERS
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EX VAT
INC VAT
4 SPEED
£100.00
£117.50
2SPEED
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B SPEED
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£645.08
RICOH 2 SPEED
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YAMAHA 4 SPEED
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IDE 2.5"
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810MB £159
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PRINTERS
EPSON 200
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EPSON 500
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EPSON PRO
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HP640
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HP870
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MONITORS
MICROVITEC 14" (NEW)
INC VAT
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MICROVITEC 15"
£359
MICROVITEC 17"
£469
SHOP SOILED PHILIPS 8833
£119
SAMSUNG 15'
£259
SAMSUNG 21" (NEW)
£1059
SONY 15"
£329.00
SONY 17"
£586.32
GASTEINER 15"
£258.50
GASTEINER 17"
£419
BITS & BOBS
ZIP DRIVES
£149.00
JAZZ DRIVES
£420.00
SQUIRREL
£50.00
SURF
£89.00
SMD MPEG
£199.00
SCSI OKTAGON
£89.00
MULITIFACE 111
£74.99
ALFAQUATRO
£55.00
IDE CONTROLLER FOR A500,
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Of there is one area computers
have managed to revolutionise
more than any other it has to be
the music industry. The advent of
digital recordings technology changed forever
how recording were made and has gone on
to produce whole new areas of music styles,
without which the world would have missed
out on Keith from the Prodigy.
Thankfully, armed with your Amiga and
even a measly amount of hardware and soft-
ware, you too can jump in head first into the
music world without having to re-mortgage
your house, wife and children. A basic set up
to get you started composing music on your
Amiga would be: A sampler and some sort of
stereo amplifier - that really is it. The amplifi-
er does not need to be anything fancy to
begin with, either a hi-fi or radio cassette
player that has the correct inputs and outputs
to make full use of your hardware.
The type of sampler you choose depends
on your budget and how keen you are.
Luckily, there are good low, medium and high
end choices for all Amiga owners, no matter
what your budget or machine.
If you just fancy having a quick dabble for
fun, then whatever machine you have you
will be better off going for one of the parallel
port type of samplers that are on the market.
The main three currently available are the
Technosound Turbo, MegaioSound and GVP
DSS8. All three plug into the parallel port of
your machine and allow you capture stereo 8
bit samples.
Decent software
All these samplers come with decent soft-
ware that allow you capture samples from
5Khz all the way up to 56Khz. They also pro-
vide for direct to disk capture giving hard
drive owners the option of playing with even
longer samples. At around £30 all pro
duce excellent quality samples, come
with decent software and are
cheap enough for you to buy just /-
to try them out.
Moving up the price scale
a wee bit there is the <
Aura 16 from HiSoft. This g
PCMCIA device, even § .-
though called the i
Aura 16, allows you to j
Quality is the key
When it comes to actually sampling, you will initially want to get the best quality you can
and then reduce the sample down to a level usable on your system. At the initial sampling
stage, depending on your machine, you will have to set the sampling rate to what your
machine can handle. The best minimum set up is an A 1 200 with 4Mb of FastRAM - with
this you will be able to get quite long samples at high (requenciesf 4 1 Khz plus) and if you
have a hard drive, all the mentioned samplers come with direct to disk sampling providing
even more flexibility. People with lesser systems will still be able to get good quality sam-
ple around the 32Khz level, you will just have to be a little more conservative on sample
length.
capture and play stereo 8 bit or stereo 12 bit
samples. Normally the best quality samples
the Amiga can play are 8 bit, but the Aura
adds another 12 bit stereo channel that is
mixed with the standard Amiga sound out-
put. The actual Aura software that comes with
the sampler works in full 16 bit quality, but
you will still only be able to replay them in 1 2
bit.
The Aura software is very nice, giving you
all the cutting, pasting and other editing tools
you would want. Along with these are a stag-
gering amount of filters many of which you
may have to just ignore, but thanks to the
built in FFT display you can get a good under-
standing of what each filter does. There is
even a MIDI sequencer built in so Aura can
play back samples under external control.
One final point is that OctaMED Sound Studio
supports the Aura by giving you additional 12
bit audio output via the Aura.
K
EEP ON TRACK
you may have noticed I have talked a lot about
how you can get the best samples possible, but
not mentioned too much about what you can do,
apart from fiddling with them in the sample edi-
tor. Well, many moons ago when programmers
wanted to add music to games they concocted a
strange symbolic musk system and wrote a pro-
gram called Sound Tracker. This gave them a
simple way of adding music tracks to games and
demos, as tracker modules are written in a way
that was simple for the computer to understand.
Unfortunately for the poor old musician, they
had the task of learning this system and writing
music with ft
/ may have made trackers sound a little worse
*-> -.*»
flr i iigjugaf-'ig.j i ».
slllilllisii
titan they actually are. What they do is allow you
to play samples at set times and at specific
notes. By giving you a number of channels, to let
you play multiple notes at once, you can produce
fairly complex compositions. It is even possible
to add effects to samples ployed using extra
codes.
These codes ore the crux of the whole prob-
lem with trackers. Before you can really get into
producing good songs you have to become
familiar with all these codes, and for a beginner
they can be a real turn off. Luckily all the mod-
' , . i.l , , n. i. Possibly the most advanced trackers on the (_.
em trackers do a good job of simplifying things ol ffw w|WWp 0elaME0 sound studio supports
05 much as possible and good documentation loads at module types, can play up to 64 chin-
should help newbies along. nela »• *< Ki quality and is dirt cheap too
".'* T £_ 1 _*_i :, ■ *■''
nets at 14 bit quality and is dirt cheap too
At the top of the range for big box Amigas
!he best choice around is SunRize's board
and a good second choice would be
MacroSystem's Toccata board. Both offer the
best sound quality around and can sample
and replay better than CD quality 16 bit
sound. The SunRize board has the best soft-
ware support with the Toccata really being
Mohr takes a look at some of the
software and hardware that could help
you break into the music biz
developed to back up the V/Lsb motion cap-
ture board, but it still offers exceptionally
good sound quality and if you go for the Pro
version, additional support is added for Midi
devices.
So you have the sampler and are ready to
try getting some sounds into your computer.
The first thing you need are good quality
leads to hook all your bits and pieces togeth-
er, Your main enemy when trying to get sam-
ples is background noise or interference so
we want to get off to a good start by having
decent leads and general connections. Next
you want to choose what the input is going to
be, either from a microphone, tape or CD. If
using a microphone, some sort of amplifica-
tion is going to be necessary.
Setting levels
Once everything is hooked up you will need
to set the levels to try and get the best sam-
ple possible. Most sampling software has a
monitor mode that gives you a real-time
display of what the sampler is cur-
rently receiving. You need to
adjust the volume level as high
as possible without distort-
ing or saturating the sam-
pler's inputs. On the
monitor display you
will see the current
wave form as being
received by the
sampler, you need
to set the volume
as high as possible
without the wave
TechnoSound Turbo II
A tittle on the old side now, but TechnoSound Turbo 2
stiff provides all the editing tools you will need
Aura's FFT display may seem just a meaningless jumble of lines,
but it shows graphically what effect filters have on samples
Jargon
BOX
Module ■ Once a piece of music has
been written in a tracker program it is
saved out as a complete module.
Both the sound samples and music
scare are contained in a single ftltr
called a module. There are various
different forms of modules, the most
common being Protrocker and
OctaMED modules, also common on
the PC are Scream Tracker modules
Channel * Allows a single sample to
be played from your Amiga, which
has four channels so can normally
only play four sounds ot the same
time, but with some clever mixing
routines can appear ta hove a lot
more
HerU • Used to describe how many
times something happens a second.
When used in reference with samples
it tells you how many times c second
tflfi sampler takes c snapshot of o
sound. So at !Q,G00Hz or fOKhz a
sample is comprised of 10,000 sepa-
rate samples
8 bit ■ Describes the quality of a sam-
ple, an 8 bit sample hos 256 sepa-
rate levels and produces decent quali-
ty sounds
16 bit -A 16 bit sample has 65,000
separate levels and produces perfect
quality samples
12 bit ■ Used by the Aura 12 bit quel-
ity gives samples 4096 different lev-
els
MIDI ■ Musical Instrument Digital
Interface. A standard way of allowing
many different types of musical
instruments and computer software to
talk to each other
touching ar flattening out at the extremes of
the monitor display.
Now you have everything hooked up, the
input levels are not too high and you have
the sampler set at a rate right for your
machine. All you need now is something to
sample, usually a good quality belch will do
for starters, When making samples remem-
ber to add a little extra time before and after
doing the samples, this space can be cut out
later and makes sure you get the whole
thing first time.
Tocatta r 3
Samplitude
software allows
you sample and
work with CD
quality samples
EXAMPLE IT AGAIN SAM
The current Aura and Technosound Turbo sampling software might be line forgetting sam-
ples onto your computer and although they do come with the basic editing tools and have
a fair few filters, neither have been updated for a long while and there's a good chance
you will want more power from your sample program.
One that is right up to date is SoundFX. It gives you a font sensitive, mufti-windowed, on-
line help, style guide compliant interface. As I well know, looks aren't everything, but
SoundFX does not disappoint in the features department. Along with a shed had of filters,
operators, ARexx scripts and some advanced editing controls SoundFX can replay samples
in both 8 and 14 bit quality and takes advantage of the AH I system allowing replay on nor-
mal Amiga hardware, Delfina, Wavetoo! and Toccata board.
AHI is a fairly new development of more use to big box user, even though it does sup-
port the Aura for sampling on A600 and A 1200 machines. It is an attempt to bring retar-
getabfe audio to the Amiga and does for sound cards what CyberCraphX did for graphics
cards. It has been used by Shopeshifter to add sound to the Mac emulation, so big box
Amiga owners can have CD quality sound from all their Mac programs. Even for the stan-
dard Amiga audio it provides enhanced 14 bit replay for programs that support it
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SoundFX has all the power you need and lor 15 quid it's another bargain program
Once you have some samples you will
want to prepare them for use. For stand
alone samples, apart from running them
through filters or reducing their play rate,
what you get from the sampler is pretty
much it, but there are a few other things that
become important for music samples.
Loop the loop
Looped samples are quite common and
usually comprise of either a backbeat or
some orchestral accompaniment, usually
violin. To get a decent loop, the start and
end points of the loop both have to be at
the same level, otherwise you get a nasty
clicking sound as the sample loops. A good
way of to get a perfect loop is to place start
and end markers and get the sampler to
constantly play the sample, then slowly
adjust these points until you get a seamless
sounding loop, crop the sample and save it
off.
Finally, remember when sampling real
instruments that a single sample is usually
not going to be enough. Guitars are a partic-
ular problem for computers and will usually
require a good number of separate samples
to be able to reproduce a range of different
chords and styles. The same goes for other
most instruments, to be able to reproduce
the entire dynamic range of a piano a few
samples taken a few octaves apart will be
necessary - again do the same for chords.
You should now know all the basics to get
writing music on your Amiga, If you find you
have been bitten by the music bug the next
stage is to start getting kitted out with some
Midi equipment but that is another story.
Technosound Turbo
First Computer Centre
Phone: OH 3 231 9444
Price: £29.99
Aura 8/ 16
HiSoft
Phone: 0500 223 660
Price: E34.95/E99.95
Toccata
White Knight
Phone: 01902 822 321
OctaMED SoundStudio
First Computer Centre
Phone: 0113 231 9444
Price: £22.99
Amiga Computing
MARCH 1997
0cott Hallam's love affair with dance
music began back in 1988 when Acid
House was sweeping the nation.
Manchester was the epicentre of the
Summer of love and a new club was opened on
Manchester's Whitworth Street called the Hacienda.
Like many other people at the time, Scott was
completely enamoured with this new musical form:
"The music had energy, it was aggressive with a
sound of it's own - new, fresh and full of power".
After a few years clubbing and buying almost every
House track he could get his hands on, Scott grad-
ually got to know people who were compiling their
own tracks.
After visiting a House musician, Scott was
inspired to start creating his own tracks.
Collaborating with Mark, Scott got to know the
equipment needed and the processes of creating a
decent tune. In addition to learning how to use mix-
ers, drum machines and keyboards, Scott was intro-
duced to the Amiga.
Starting off
Bitten by the bug, Scott started to build his own
recording studio in earnest. Starting off with an
Amiga 500 and turtitable, he used the Amiga for the
turntable and for internal samples. After acquiring a
Roland D10 Keyboard, Boss SE50 Effects Drum
Machine, and other gizmos, Scott came to realise
the true strength of the Amiga. Although very adept
at sampling, the Amiga was also extremely useful at
managing external sound sources. In the fledgling
.studio the Amiga was at the heart of the system,
connecting and controlling everything.
Remarkably, seven years on, Scott is still using an
Amiga despite having bought a 186 PC a year ago.
Although some of the music software available for
the PC looks good, the PC didn't cut it when it ,
came to handling the large amount of data /',.
required
Whilst the Amiga could control and sequence every-
thing almost flawlessly, the PC had the irritatingly
habit of crashing almost every time it was used. The
Amiga, in Scott's words, "Has only crashed about
twice in its existence" Because of the architecture of
the system and the fact almost every component is
Hugh Poynton talks
to musician Scott
Hallam about the
place of the Amiga
in the modern
recording studio
made by the same company, there are no incompat-
ibility problems between sound cards, graphics cards,
memory boards and the like.
Scott continues: "What I like about the Amiga is
that it is all in one, you don't have to worry about get-
ting compatible components, its all done for you. You
just get a hard drive for it and you're away. Its also
quite versatile, I would have loved to have got into
the video editing side of it. There are a lot of Genlocks
available for Amiga. Pretty good machine as long as
you've got the memory for it.."
A remarkable number of people still use Amigas to
create dance music Not as many professional studios
use Amigas because in a full recording studio there are
probably specialised machines - such as the industry
standard Atari or the new Atari Falcon that are too
expensive to be owned privately.
Future magazine publish CDs full of home produced
tracks that are often listened to by industry A&R people.
If deals are signed and contracts drawn up, chances are
they will stick with the Amiga because they know how
to use it and are comfortable with the machine and its
abilities.
A British trio calling themselves Conemelt are on the
prestigious Andy Wetherali label. They use three linked
Amigas because they are inexpensive and on one
machine you could process 16 MIDI channels, with
three networked you could run 48 channels making for
a pretty rich blend of sounds.
asked Scott to show me the process undertaken to
produce a new track. Amid the organised chaos of his
recording studio sat a little A500 surrounded by
machines that wouldn't have looked out of place on
the dashboard of the space shuttle. Like any other
musician, Scott's primary requirement is inspiration,
you need some place to start.
Get the idea in mind, be it a melody or a
drum loop or a sample - put the first thing
down. Find the sample you want to use -
before or
after
writing the track - trim the start and the end
point so it'll loop OK. This is basically just a mat-
ter of assigning the sample a key and then plac-
ing it in the track. You could play the whole
track with samples but it takes away the origi-
nality, better to disguise samples".
He continues: "For example, with a break-
best, instead of just having it loop over and
over again you have your own version of that
breakbeat. You might have the end at the start,
the start at the end or just chop it up a bit.
That's how a lot of the jungle tracks are made -
rolling snares, things like that."
With the sheer amount of high tech electri-
cals, producing dance tracks can't come cheap.
I asked Scott just how much money was
required to equip a basic studio:
"You would really need an Amiga 500 with 2
Meg memory and 80 Meg hard drive. This
wouldn't be particularly costly. As for software,
you'd need something like Music X v2 for
sequencing external sounds. Lots of companies
make classic sounding modules, such as
Roland 303 drum machine sounds, but these
modules don't have quite the same effect as
using the original machines themselves."
"Alternatively there is the Korg sound mod-
ule (£600) - although this will have loads of
sounds and samples, you won't be able to take
samples on it You will need a sampler as well
and a keyboard route through the Amiga. The
keyboard to trigger everything through the
Amiga, which tells it what to play, and then into
the sound module for string, piano, bass line
and so on."
"Then the sampler will be used for drum
loops and vocal snatches. I'd recommend the
Ovation Bass Station for analogue stuff, it has a
simulated 303 sound, a very deep baseline and
is one of the best products of 91/95. You don't
really need a big set up, but if you get into it you
just collect more and more equipment."
"You will need a mixer as well, a 16 channel
one. FX - you want reverb and echo. You can
get FX machines for about £300. You would
also probably require a DAT - its what everyone
uses. Maybe even a multi track recording sys-
tem. This will mean that instead of recording a
tune onto the DAT as one track which you can't
over dub, using a multi track, it can be run in
time with the Amiga. This allows you to add
more sounds, beef up bass lines and so on. The
basic set up including an Amiga, keyboard, FX,
DAT, mixer, sound module and sampler and
drum machine would cost between £3000 and
£4000."
Producing professional quality dance tracks
Other amiga musicians
Cone head are Ashley Marlowe, Nat Mel tors, Grant
Newman - a British trio that debuted over a year
ago with the album "You F**kers F**ck" on their
own New Ground label. For their second album
"Confuse and Destroy" they are signed to Andy
Wetherall's Audio Emissions Output label.
Their own particular brand of 'radical techno'
Eric Cieseke (aka Sidewinder) is one of the best
known Amiga-using musicians. Eric has been writing
music on the Amiga for about seven years and even
designs the inlay cards for his CDs using an Amiga
3000. The Texan musician draws influences from his
travels around the world (having lived on about every
continent bar Antarctica). Essential discography tracks
his development in the computer music scene since
the late 80s. Starting in 1990, Sidewinder started cre-
has been likened to a 'robo-Rottweiler that is
intimidating, charming, aggressive and playful at
the same time' or as 'sublime, warped, jazz-tinged
and flipped-out techno that could cut you in half
with a feather 1 . The Tunbridge lads use three
linked Amigas to produce their own unique
sound.
ating music in MOD format and became one of the
best computer musicians in America and beyond.
There are four tapes released by Sidewinder since
1992. Technology Bytes Volume I & 2, Best of
Hardcore! and InsatJa Fantasy. Future Shock 2 fea-
tures songs from Technology bytes including the
remixed Liverman and Sidewinder's extremely ener-
gised anthem Spanish Armada is featured on his
upcoming Analyzer CD.
Perhaps the most
souped up A500
you wilt ever see
And thats just
one waW
could hardly be considered cheap but if the
equipment is picked up and accrued over a few
years, the costs don't appear so intimidating.
For Scott, at least, it looks as though his passion
for producing dance tracks has paid off. Early in
1996 Scott decided the time had come to
release some of his work.
Deciding on an EP, he choose five of his best
tracks (not an easy task as by this point he had
more than 40 DATs of his work). After remixing
and touching up the best tracks, Scott took his
EP compilation to Pure Music Manufacturing
in Manchester and had 500 copies
produced.
The records have received a
fair bit of airplay on the
radio, mainly Kiss 102,
with DJs such as John
Berry and 808 State
playing tracks on
their shows. Chris
Evans has played
tracks on the
Breakfast Show
and major
record compa-
nies are show-
ing a keen inter-
est. Scott plans to release more tracks in spring
'97. There's every chance that, if in 1999, club-
bers are going mental to a Scott Hallam tune it
was probably pieced together
on an Amiga.
himself
Amiga Computing
MARCH 1997
J>m<
L
4
Of you use a photocopier to make a
copy you go to the machine, place
the document to be copied inside,
_ press a button and wait for the
device to do its job. It's likely you do all this
without really knowing what goes on inside -
you just know what input is required (the doc-
ument to be copied) and what must be done to
start the copying process. You also know that
some results will come back i.e. a copy of the
input document
This information hiding 'black box' concept is
an effective way of protecting a user from
unnecessary complexity. For the C programmer,
there is an equally effective facility - the C func-
tion. This provides similar capabilities and
because of this, functions are the essential
building blocks of all C programs.
Many functions, like printfO we used last
month, have been found to be so useful they
are provided with all C compilers. The Amiga
also has its own function libraries and we'll see
later how these are used for handling Intuition,
graphics and so on. Often however, you'll need
to create your own functions.
Function Definitions
Listing 1 provides a general description of a C
function whilst listing 2 shows a simple exam-
ple which calculates the area of a rectangle by
multiplying its width and length values togeth-
er. This latter definition uses C's * operator to
indicate multiplication and give us our first
encounter with some variables.
Variables represent areas of memory that
you can use for storing information and, just as
with languages like Basic, it helps to use names
that mean something. Needless to say I have
defined a variable called result - because in this
instance that's exactly what it is being used to
store.
The expression 'int', incidentally, is just C's
way of describing a variable that can store an
integer (a whole number) value. The width and
length parameters used in the function defini-
tion are also variables (again defined as inte-
gers) but, because they represent the function
arguments, take on whatever values are sup-
plied when the function is used. Inside the func-
tion however, these items are used just like any
other variables.
The return() statement indicates the value to
be returned to the caller and any valid C expres-
sion may be used inside the parenthesis.
Functions do not have to provide a return value
and a retumQ statement without an expres-
sion, or in fact no return() statement at all, both
result in no actual value being returned. It's also
perfectly legal to ignore a return value, although
□ i
More help for
aspiring C coders
as Paul Overaa
puts function use
under the spotlight
un co on
2)
return-type function-naae ( paraieter list )
<
variable declarations
appropriate C statements
)
Listing 1: In general C functions
have this sort of layout
in the case of our example function, it would
make little sense to carry out the calculation if
you weren't going to use the results!
So, the listing 2 function definition tells us
AreaO is a function that expects two integers
representing the width and length of a rectangle
- and returns an integer representing the area of
that rectangle. Using the function is easy - if, for
example we have a variable called
rectangie_area that we want to set to the area
of a 6 unit by 8 unit rectangle we just write:
rettangle.area = Area(S,8);
C evaluates the right hand side of the expres-
sion by making a call to the AreaO function
(using the parameters supplied). Then it assigns
the function's return value to the variable on the
left hand side of the expression. The result - rec-
tangle_area gets set to 48!
To be honest, the operation of multiplying
two numbers together, which is all Area() does,
would not normally be written as a function -
you'd just work out the result using the state-
ment width*length. It must be said however,
that if you were going to define a function for
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This month's example can be compiled in
exactly the same way as last month's code
int Anitint width, int length)
<
int result;
result=«idth'length;
re turn! re suit );
1
Listing 2: An example function definition
doing this you could do it more concisely by
using the function's arguments directly:
int Areatim width, int length)
i
returnUidth'Length);
)
int Areafint width, int
I ength){return(width* length);}
Notice that C, unlike other languages, isn't par-
ticularly fussy about the physical layout of the
source code.
Some Example Code
On the coverdisk you will find a short program
that makes use of this AreaO function along
with a few extra notes about the variable and
function naming conventions I use. One thing
you will notice in this month's source is an ANSI
C function declaration statement called a proto-
type
int Areafint width, int length);
This looks pretty much like the first line of the
function description itself, with a semicolon
tagged on the end. It's job is to provide an ini-
tial definition of the variable types being used
which then allows the compiler to check all
subsequent function use is correct (pre-ANSI
compilers were not able to do this).
Needless to say there is plenty more to be
said about functions but it's best to deal with
individual issues as they crop up within exam-
ple code. So, although next month it's C vari-
able types and operators that come under the
limelight, you will in fact be also be learning a
little more about function use as well. /f>f
Amiga Computing
MARCH 1997
^^^ "d Web surfers eager to investigate
m ^ Y^ fr* programs reviewed in these
™ _ W pages, but rtot so keen on sifting
■^•^ through Aminet to find them, might
want to visit the Public Sector Web site at
http://www.dcus.demon.co.uk/ sector/sec-
tor.html (or follow the "Software" link from the
Amiga Computing homepage). From here you
can download the archives from Aminet at the
dick of a button, as well as search through vari-
ous indices to find and download software
reviewed in previous issues.
If you don't have the luxury of an Internet
connection, do not be alarmed if you spot an
item in these pages that is listed as available
from Aminet The chances are your favourite PD
Library will stock the program anyway, but if
they don't you might want to contact one of sev-
eral libraries who will download stuff from the
archive for a reasonable charge - for instance,
Your Choice PD offer such a service.
Ptrbfre Sector
Dave Cusick
gives it some gas
in the PeeDee
porsche...
remx/trattfcsfaiitB ffiffits [yrytfmgBe
>|H*iN*i-lb'iii j M "l t In it ni rt*ilBni " * iil ^-—-J "W-
; i.-iar-i-i^-i-iiSt—.....
Make the Public Sector Web page
your first port of call on the Internet
Into The Deep
Classic Amiga Software
1 1 Deansgate, Raddiffe
Manchester M2
(Tel: 0161 723 1
Ll
Lane,
iverpool L37
(Tel: 01704 834335)
(BBS: 01704 834583)'
Your Choice PD j
39 Lamb ton Road, Chorl
Manchester M21 OZJ
(Tel: 0161 881 8994)
Qubble Pictures
Produced by: Hubble Space Telescope
comet team
Available from: OnLine PD
Disk No: 0X351
ITHusicline Editor vl.14
Programmed by: Musicline
Available from: Aminet
(as mus/edit/mlinell5.lha}
The Musicline Editor has apparently been
four years in the making and when you load
it up you won't fail to be impressed by the
sheer wealth of options available. In fact,
because the programmers have deliberately
set out to make the editor totally different
from the numerous Protracker clones already
in existence, using the Musicline Editor can at
first appear somewhat daunting.
The features list is frighteningly long, Music
can be created using four or eight channels,
using notes covering five octaves; sound sam-
ples can be up to 127k in length (significant-
ly bigger than with ProTracker, which if mem-
ory serves me correctly only allows 64k sam-
ples); each tune can include up to 255 instru-
ments with which a huge variety of effects
at 8 a « » ■ m a m a m n m n
Forget about ProTracker clones - just
get hold of the Musicline Editor as
soon as possible
In July 1992, the Shoemaker-Levy 9 comet
began to break up as it passed too close to
Jupiter. Fragments of the comet began to col-
lide with the planet and two years later frag-
ments were still impacting on the surface.
Scientists estimated at the time that the com-
bined energy of the impacts would be rough-
ly comparable to a million hydrogen bombs.
Fortunately for fans of spacey images, by
July 1994 the Hubble Space Telescope (of the
famously dented mirrors, if I'm not mistaken)
was on hand to take some snaps. And very
exciting they are too.
Actually, whilst some of the pictures prob-
ably will not mean a great deal to anyone
other than astronomers (despite the interest-
ing comments from the comet team which
iiliiuiiiiuifii
The Musteline Editor is absolutely
bristling with powerful features
may be used and ProTracker modules can be
loaded and modified. In short, Musicline
Editor can do more than pretty much every
other non-MIDI music composition program
in existence - which explains why the authors
have made it Shareware, with a £16 registra-
tion fee.
The effects that can be applied to instru-
ments can all be adjusted to suit - for
instance, if you chose to use an envelope you
could alter the attack, delay, sustain and
release characteristics and if you chose to
apply tremelo you could opt for one of four
wave types before playing around with the
speed, depth, attack and delay. In other
words, once you get to know your way
around the interface, it's possible to hone
your compositions so they sound exactly as
you would like.
The example modules supplied with
Musicline demonstrate just some of the
power of this excellent editor. No serious
Amiga musician should be without it.
accompany many of them), they are never-
theless quite fascinating in a strange, cosmic
sense. Indeed, after reading some of the truly
stupendous figures involved (for instance,
Jupiter was approximately 477 million miles
from Earth when some of the images were
taken) and working my way through the 19
Jpegs included on the disk, I suddenly began
to feel extremely small and insignificant.
Amiga Computing
MARCH 1997
Qemple of Everlasting Light
You may remember that last month Public Sector featured a sort of "Perfect PD Past and Pathetic PD Present" thing. Well, focusing on pathetic stuff struck me as
just a tad too negative, so I thought instead I would expand on the Perfect PD Past idea to include a selection of themed gems from the last few years. This month,
The Simpsons...
Homer 1.6
Programmed by: David Swasbrook
Available from: Aminet
(as uti!/wb/Homerl5.lha and
util/misc/Homer 1 6u.l ha)
Itch & Scratchy #2, #3 and #4
Programmed by: Chrome Australia
Available from: Online PD
When I first reviewed Homer last year, I was a
relative newcomer to the world of The
Simpsons. Back then, Sky viewers were treat-
ed to an hour a week of what I described at
the time as "An often hysterical, constantly
sparkling satire on modern life American
style." Nowadays, lucky satellite subscribers
get daily doses of The Simpsons and (after a
long wait) now there are even 22 minutes of
Springfieldian fun on terrestrial TV every
weekend.
Unfortunately the BBC have seen fit to slip
The Simpsons into a particularly inappropri-
ate slot between "classic" Tom And Jerry car-
toons and the painfully populist Noel's House
Party. This ensures that practically everyone to
whom the program would appeal, if only they
caught a glimpse, is in actual fact
eating their Saturday evening
meal when the program goes
out. Some bright spark at the
Beeb has also decided that rather
than showing the episodes in any
sort of order, it would be better to
transmit the very cheesiest and
possibly least funny episodes
ever made before even thinking
about running some of the all-
time classics. Still, I suppose we
can't have everything...
Despite the Beeb's best efforts
to suggest they were right all
along and that The Simpsons is completely
unsuited to terrestrial TV, I know of at least a
dozen recent converts and it's with them in
mind that I thought Homer was worthy of
another mention in these hallowed pages.
Let's make no bones about this: Homer is a
totally useless program. However, that does
not stop it from being a must-have. The sim-
ple fact is that 22 minutes of Homer Simpson
per week is not enough to sustain ardent
D'oh-votees of the Great God Blubber himself
and the prospect of having everyone's
favourite fat American numbskull sitting on
It's the Itchy &
Scratchy show
the Workbench and sharing
pearls of wisdom (in
between belches) is just too
attractive to pass up.
The Workbench version of
Homer relies on sampled
sounds, plenty of which are
actually included in the vl.5
archive. If - woe betide • you
should tire of the supplied
speech snippets, adding new
samples is a straightforward
process. You could of course
sample Homer yourself with
the aid of a VCR, a Scart
cable and a sound sampler, but Internet users
might like to visit http://www.snpp.com/
which, along with more Simpsons-related
information than you are ever likely to wade
through, contains hundreds of links to
Simpsons sample archives.
Of course, Homer isn't the only star of The
Simpsons. The cat and mouse duo Itchy and
Scratchy have supplied their fair share of
memorable moments in the past, with their
horrifically violent adventures figuring promi-
nently in some great Simpsons episodes.
When I first reviewed Itchy & Scratchy ani-
mation disks #2 and #3 a couple of years
ago, I had no idea they were Matt Groening
creations. Twenty-two issues later, the anima-
tions are just as colourful and comical.
Admittedly they only last around 30 seconds
each, but are all extremely entertaining and
certainly liable to be loaded up more than
once.
They may have been so violent that Marge Simpson ...but the Itchy & Scratchy cartoons are
didn't want her kids to watch them... amongst the greatest ever created
CJagic Theatre
Human beings are, on the whole, critical beasts. Although for the most part only the very best in Freeware and Shareware makes it into these pages, doubtless there
has been the odd occasion when you have flicked through Public Sector muttering to yourself "I could do better than these poor PeeDee efforts", or something. So
here's your chance to prove it.
Here's the Bobby Moore: Cram your best efforts onto a 3.5", slap it in a padded envelope with a covering letter and wang it with all haste in our general direction,
pausing only to mark the envelope with "Reader Submission" in addition to the usual Public Sector address. Some days later when said envelope tumbles gently through
my letterbox, I'll tear it open, shove it in my drive and don my evaluating cap, with the creme de la submissions earning reviews in these pages as well as highly desir-
able prizes for their creators.
Dear reader, is this not music to your ears (or, erm, candy to your eyes)? Don't dawdle for another moment - get those submissions in the post before Tina changes
her mind about the prizes...
Amiga Computing
MARCH 1997
Qmart Dogs
Games Blaster
Programmed by: Stuart Beatty
Available from: OnLine PD
PlayStation Cheats
Programmed by: an anonymous
Web author
Available from: Classic Amiga Software
Games Blaster is a disk full of game cheats,
which are unsurprisingly presented in
Amigaguide format, making the guide clear
and simple to navigate. Scores of games are
covered, from the Addams Family to Zool 2,
with passwords, type-in cheats and suchlike
all included.
PlayStation Cheats, on the other hand, is
simply a text file which has been slapped
onto a disk. Again, plenty of games are cov-
ered so if you have decided to invest in one
of these extremely popular consoles for gam-
ing purposes, but you're struggling with the
latest expensive smash hit, you'd do well to
consult this disk.
As an added bonus, the PlayStation Cheats
disk includes an excellent little Space
Invaders clone which, in a fit of originality, the
author saw fit to call Space Invasion. It does-
LIVES Z
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Do not underestimate the
power of, erm, Space Invasion
n't compare too well with Wipeout, but it is a
playable version of a golden oldie which will
remind you of the days when men were men
and arcade games never cost more than ten
pence. The kids of today don't know they're
born, I'm telling you...
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■jt*ad of chooiiri'i on* at these
du cor* *crmi *noTh*r roon full
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IV/fh Games Blaster
you'll be nbte to
complete that
classic even it
you're completely
useless
AN KKK
vO-77
Programmed by: K-P Koljonen
Available from: Aminet
(as game/2play/tankkk.lha)
Tankkk is an extremely playable shoot-
em'up which allows 2-4 players to take
control of tanks and trundle around a
maze shooting each other. The objective is
straightforward: Destroy your opponents.
The tank battle can take place in one of
six mazes and in preference to ordinary
bullets you can opt to fight with bullets
that keep bouncing off walls until they hit
something. Once a certain number of bul-
lets have struck a tank or it collides with a
wall once too often, it will begin spinning
around in circles and eventually explode.
When only one tank remains, a statistics
screen appears telling each player just how
accurate their shots were.
The graphics are clear (though function-
al rather than spectacular) and the sound
effects are suitably noisy, but without a
doubt Tankkk's biggest asset is its sheer
payability. As with other PD multiplayer
gems such as Dogfight and Bratwurst,
you'll find yourself having "just one more
game" worryingly often as you try to exact
revenge for an unlucky loss.
Knack: compress files with ease, and
perform some other everyday operations
whilst you're about it
light Control
Programmed by: Paul van der Valk
Available from: Aminet
(as game/misc/fl ightcontrol.lha)
This is a curious game in an embryonic but
fully functional version 1 ,0. As with Fireflies
last month, in its current incarnation the
program is interesting and strangely
absorbing though lacking in long term
appeal. With development it could become
an accomplished offbeat attention-keeper.
Flight Control is based on an old
Microprose game of the same name. The
objective is basically to guide aircraft to
their destinations safely, but in practice this
is not as easy as it sounds because with
several planes airborne at any one time,
there can be a lot to think about at once.
It's not a good idea to keep an aeroplane
waiting on the ground for too long before
allowing it to take off. Once airborne, dif-
ferent types of plane move at different
speeds towards their destinations. At any
time a flight can be selected and new
orders issued regarding the direction and
height the plane should take. If two aero-
planes travelling at a similar height enter
the same map area, they will come into
conflict.
Some of the improvements the author is
Flightcontrot:
Do that Air Tr.itlio
Controller thang
planning include adding sound effects and
fancier graphics, building in a career mode
so the game has some sort of eventual
objective and incorporating disasters. As it
stands, Flight Control is curiously com-
pelling but ultimately unfulfilling. When the
proposed additions are implemented it
should definitely be one to look out for.
Amiga Computing
MARCH 1997
Hey dude Qtoms
I want to hear from you if you have
any program, whatever its purpose,
which you consider worthy of review.
Whether it will be freely distributable
Public Domain, Shareware or
Licenceware, if you feel it is of suffi-
cient quality to merit coverage, stick
it in a padded envelope and send it
in with all haste.
Although Public Sector cannot possi-
bly hope to cover all submissions, I
promise 171 at least look at your work
- even if it is yet another Lottery pro-
gram or Klondike cardset It does
make my job a lot easier though if
disks are clearly labelled.
Please also include a covering letter
detailing the disk contents and price
and giving some basic instructions.
The magic addr~
Dave Cusicf
PD submissio
Amiga Computing
Media House
Ad ling ton Pai
Macclesfieli
SK10 4NP
Programmed by: Michele Berionne
Available from: Aminet
(as game/think/Atoms3l.lha)
Based on an old Atari ST game, Atoms offers
brain-bending fun for up to four players. If
you don't have any friends (either in the
room or in the world), the computer can play
for up to three people or you can simply
choose to play with less than four partici-
pants.
Each player takes it in turns to place an
atom in a square on the gameboard. Players
can only place atoms in empty squares or in
squares containing their own coloured atoms.
If too many atoms are placed in a square, the
atoms become unstable and explode.
The number of atoms which will cause an
explosion varies depending on the position of
a square on the board - corner squares can
hold only two atoms, edge squares hold
three and other squares hold four. When the
atoms in a square explode, neighbouring
squares are showered in atoms of the same
colour,
It all sounds horribly confusing, but in prac-
tice makes for an engaging game combining
luck and skill. With passable graphics and
nice sound effects too, the only thing Atoms
can really be criticised for is the dreadful
music which will have you reaching for the
volume control within moments of first load-
EJatrix Generator
Programmed by: Mathieu Dhondt
Available from: Aminet
(as game/role/SRunMatrix3J3.lha)
In the past I have hypothesised in these
pages that Rawk music appreciation is, for
many people, a fundamental part of the
adolescence experience (although I'd like
The Matrix Generator doesn't took too impressive but wilt
be a great betp to Sbadowrun GMs
to re-emphasise that I, like most of the AC
staff with the unfortunate but notable
exception of our beloved editor, managed
to avoid succumbing to it). There is a sec-
ond, perhaps equally common, phenome-
non which is particularly prevalent in males.
Allow me to elucidate.
Many hours of my early teenhood were
spent hunched around a dinner table rolling
dice, calculating experi-
ence points and consult-
ing colourful maps of fic-
titious worlds. Yes, I was
a roleplayer. Perhaps it
was to escape from the
obligatory teenage angst
or perhaps it was just
because Manchester
United were hovering
dangerously close to rel-
egation - who can tell?
Suffice to say that for
some time I wasn't at a
loss for something to do
in the evenings and
weekends.
My obsession began
with the seminal fantasy
RPC that was Dungeons
Si Dragons and 1 confess
that over a couple of
years I accumulated an
obscene amount of rule
Atoms: Mind-boggling tun, or something
ing the program;.
Atoms is Shareware and the registration
fee is 1 5,000 Italian Lira. In these days of con^
stantly changing currency exchange rates
(and Italian governments, the cynical might
say), I'm not exactly sure how this translates,
although I believe it is probably about £6
(don't you just love the Lira?) For your trouble
you will not only receive peace of mind and
the knowledge that you're helping sustain the
Amiga in these troubled times, but you'll also
get a disk full of games by Michele.
books, adventure packs and copies of TSR's
ever-so-slightly biased Dragon magazine.
I later left the confines of the fantasy
environment to guide teams of intrepid
spacefarers around the universe in
MegaTraveller. At the same. time, one of my
roleplaying friends made the leap from
Runequest to Shadowrun. Shadowrun is
based around a Gibson-esque cyberpunk
theme, but as an added twist, fantasy crea-
tures such as elves feature too.
However, the main thrust of games I par-
ticipated in was always the technological
aspect of cyberpunk life and as such my
character became an accomplished hacker
and broke into several large corporate com-
puter networks. These networks were called
matrices and invariably the gamesmaster
would not let me hack into one unless he
happened to have prepared it in advance,
because otherwise the game would grind to
a halt for ten minutes whilst he rolled some
dice and consulted his tables to generate a
matrix.
Shadowrun CMs will therefore consider
the Matrix Generator something of a god-
send - in a matter of seconds it can gener-
ate an entire computer system, which can
then be printed out for reference. Whilst it
clearly caters only for an extremely small
number of people, this is the sort of simple
but useful program that the Public Domain
was made to house.
Amiga Computing
MARCH 1997
Ot seems to have taken an eterni-
ty to get hold of a copy, but
finally I have managed to get
my grubby mitts on this latest
Amiga art package. At a time when the
Amiga's future is no more clear than it has
been at anytime in the last couple of years,
it is quite a shock to find a company show-
ing as much faith in the Amiga as Haage
and Partner. Following the release of its
C/C++ compiler just a few months ago, jj,
now has what is supposedly Photoshop ffl
the Amiga, a bold claim for any packages
make on any platform.
It has to be said though that any njffll
Amiga art package is going to have to be
something special to make its mara(
Looking at the current range of programs
out there, Amiga users have a great deal to
choose from already.
For bitmap work there is DPaint,'
Brilliance and the latest version PPaint. For
image processing you have ImageFX and
AdPro not forgetting public domain entries
ImageStudio and ImageEngineer. And then
for 24 bit work you could again choose
Brilliance, XiPaint, Photogenics or, for the
rich, TV Paint. So for ArtEffect to succeed it
may very well have to be as good as
Photoshop.
TWO DISKS
The whole ArtEffect package only takes up
two disks so installation using the Amiga
installer takes no time at all. When you first
run it you must choose what screen mode
to use. ArtEffect can use any Amiga screen
mode from 16 to 256 colours and if you
have a CyberGraphX card you will be able
to make full use of it and take advantage of
the 15 and 24 bit screen modes. One point
to note is that ArtEffect needs a screen at
least 400 pixels high, other wise the GUI
will not fit.
I Could an Amiga art package
even come close to challenging
Photoshop? Neil Mohr sees if
the rumours are true
JEW FORVl .5
Support for Ham8 mode
(A1200,A4000)
This is a bit of a mixed blessing depending on how you look
at it With the HomB mode you generally get a much better
colour representation of the picture, indeed it is much better
than Photogenics' own HamB mode. On the down side,
screen update is dog slow and Haage & Partner themselves
only recommend it for when you are image processing
Plug-In MotionBlur
A free new plug in allows you to add motion blur to your pic-
tures, hence the name MotionBlur plug in, its all clever stuff
Plug-In Tile
This module fills the complete picture with the current brush
Plug-In Makefile
This module creates a tile that can be used with the module
tile to create an 'endless' texture. This actually has a useful
application for Web pages as you will be able to make seam-
less backdrop images in no time at all
Plug-In ScanQuix
This module calls the external scanner software ScanQuix if
it is installed on your computer
Amiga Computing
MARCH 1997
ArtEffect has one of those all singing
multi-window front ends and thanks to
BGU1, everything is font sensitive and
aspect correct. A nice touch is that when
you shut it down all the current windows,
Using the magic wand and the main
settings you can easily mark out areas
in pictures and so protect them from
the image processing effects
positions and status are recorded for the
next time you run it. One puzzling thing
though is why the tool box is so big - are
Germans not very dextrous? It could easily
be half the size and still be big enough, but
Workbench Screen
As with most programs today,
to get the best out of
ArtEffect, you need a relative-
ly high specification Amiga -
preferably an 040 Amiga with
a CyberCraphX card
1
that's me being picky,
Hither than the tool box, normally you
iju\\\ have a brush window, which again I
•link it a little on the large side, a universal
Option window that works very well. For
teach drawing tool you select this changes
'so you can leave it open and have access
to all the options at any time. For colour
selection you have quite a choice - RGB,
HSB and CMYK slider along with a HSB
colour range and a configurable colour
mixer.
Colour change
The sliders are very well implemented, as
you adjust them the actual slider container
changes colour, showing which position
corresponds to which colour, taking out
some of the guess work. The one thing not
available is the normal circular Amiga
colour selector, which I do find quite easy
to use and wouid like to see added.
Different paint packages expect you to
work in different ways, the older or more
traditional style Amiga paint package gen-
erally only allowed you paint on direct
colour or play around with gradients work-
ing on the pixel level. With the arrival of
Photogenics you had an awful lot more
power as it allowed you to both paint
directly onto an image with its effects and
also mask out areas with its alpha channel.
With Photoshop, as with ArtEffect,
IS LS 5ut
Sii
I'M 1 1 r l! 'I?
Mods
I Previtt
Execute
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na
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You will be able to run ArtEffect
on any public screen that has
more than 16 free pens
QJrush with depth
Fancy effects and composition tools are all well and
good and have their place in any self-respecting art
package, but if they are not backed up with decent
drawing and brush tools, the program will always
seem to be lacking something. For example, ImageFX's
painting is far from perfect and Photogenics does not
allow you to grab brushes from other images.
Well ArtEffect certainly does not disappoint with its
Things do not just stop here though, when it comes
to actually drawing with brushes, you have a whole
myriad of additional control over how the brush affects
your picture. Most basically you can adjust the hard-
ness of the current brush but extras like darken, light-
en, process hue/saturation/luminance, blur, smooth
and sharpen al
your drawing.
add up to give you a lot of control over
brush support. To start you have three
different drawing modes - pen, brush
and airbrush. All giving you a slightly dif-
ferent control over how colour is spread
onto pictures.
The real power of ArtEffect's brushes
lies in its brush manager and the univer-
sal settings window. The brush manager
is the part you will use the most and is
where all your brushes are stored.
If you are familiar with Brilliance, you
will know this had a brush store where
all the loaded brushes were graphically
stored. ArtEffect is a little different, not
only can brushes cut from images be
stored here, but you can create your
own brush styles. Using the brush cre-
ator it is possible to alter the size, shape,
density, dithering and brush spacing. As
a result you can create a brush for what-
ever type of situation you wish.
in
rush Creator
Shape
Intensity Density Roughness
[Ml
Size
Proportion %
Angle
Shape
Q\ Rectangular
Continuous
^J
Spacing %
1
1 30
Brush Manager
IF-I'
Create j Add| Rern[ Pic— > | ->Pic|
SPITZE JO
■ISA
Using the brush creator you can knock
up almost any type of brush you like
effects are applied to the entire image,
unlike Photogenics in which you can 'paint
on' these effects. Obviously there are times
where this is not what you want, you may
only be interested in a specific area or por-
tion of an image.
To help you here ArtEffect has a stencil
tool, If you have ever used DPaint or
Brilliance you would have more than likely
come across their stencil functions. With
these programs you can select certain
colours in a picture and protect them from
being drawn over. The main point being
J new MakeTile plug in copies Photoshop's seamless welder
and allows you to create continuous Web backdrops with ease
Amiga Computing
MARCH 1997
that in a picture, relative areas usually
consist of similar colours, so you can pro-
tect these areas by selecting the relevant
colours.
This same sort of thinking is also used
with ArtEffect, but the execution is very
different. With Dpaint you got a list of
colours in the picture and which ones are
in the stencil. With a 24 bit image this is
obviously not practical, so instead the
area masked out by your selection is
shown graphically on screen with
ArtEffect shading out the selected areas.
Tolerances
Area is determined on the colour you
choose and you also have control over the
tolerance levels, or how closely matching
other coiours h3ve to be before they will
also be selected for the stencil. You can
select and de-select multiple areas using
the alt and control keys.
Once you have the area selected, fur-
ther control is provided via invert, add
border, grow and shrink functions. Finally
there is a feather option that fades in any
effect that is applied and covers over the
edge of the selected area. Anyone that
l ,i 'a-,: ■,■. ■■. '-•<!.. ff ;r, .-„ . , >-
»-f»H7»H
SI
l(^
- ; -
V
r** 0u« j g»l Mm
*"*M , | CMO*y _J
I: j
The new motion blur filter in action, alt the while
a second fitter is still working in the background
Ul AND YOU-ME
Qhose EFFE
Just as every other art package out
there, ArtEffect has a bulging pouch of
image effects ready for you to unleash
on your unsuspecting pictures. Just as
with Photoshop and Photogenics,
ArtEffect uses a plugin system to allow
filters to be updated or added to at a
later date.
ArtEffect uses quite a good window
system in which a preview thumbnail of
the finished effect is shown and any
options are available. Even though a
progress bar shows how long the pre-
view will take to display it would be
even better if the preview was a pro-
gressive display. One interesting point
about the effect windows is that they
run asynchronously to the main pro-
gram. So you can open an effect, leave
it open and go back to editing the main
picture, and the preview will continue to
be updated.
All the effects are pretty much what
you would expect. I was half hoping
for a decent gausian blur filter but
has used Photoshop will now realise that
the stencil is another name for Photoshop's
magic wand, and the tool in ArtEffect used
to select the stencil area is called
exactly that, but you get the added bonus
of being able to draw on the stencil as
well.
As with most programs today, to get the
best out of ArtEffect, you need a relatively
high specification Amiga - preferably an
040 Amiga with a CyberGraphX card. With a
plane old ACA or ECS machine drawing on
screen with some of the fancy pens can be
a laborious task, even though most of the
effects and other drawing tools do work fast
enough.
For a first release, ArtEffect shows enor-
mous promise. I think it has a way to go
before it can live up to the claim that it is
equal to Photoshop. It has some good
It seems to be common place now for Amiga pro-
grams to shun the standard interface in favour of the
increasing number of replacement systems out there.
Since version two of the Amiga's operating system
arrived a new interface library has been available
called GadTools.
This was meant to supply the programmer with
access to all the different gadget types they would
ever need in one small library, which it did.
Unfortunately, to implement even a simple set of but-
tons required you to go through the arduous process
of creating a CadTool data structure for each one, and
then there was the matter of then having to collect
the gadgets messages afterwards.
Because of the unfriendliness of GadTools many
programmers took it upon themselves to produce
replacement interface libraries - entirely new ones
or ones that built upon the existing GadTools
library. The best known, or some would say infa-
mous, is Magic User Interface, this provides a
wealth of special gadgets and features for the pro-
grammer while being simple to implement To be
honest the word overkill could describe MUI, every
single part of it is adjustable and at the end of the
day most people use the same type of fonts and
gadgets.
I would say the runner up in the GUI war is BGUI,
another long running replacement system that
takes a much more cut-down approach than MUI. It
only requiring a single 100k library but still gives
the programmer a simple way to create rescable,
font sensitive windows and interfaces. With pro-
grams such as ArtEffect, DrawStudio, World
Construction Set and Digital Universe all opting for
these replacement interface systems, I can only see
the trend continuing in the future.
-j+j|50%
Shape I
|is
Brightness I
J32
Low I
Jo
Execute
Everything you would expect is
provided by ArtEffect's fitters, I
just want a progressive display
unfortunately it is still limited to only two
blur levels and was almost as slow as
Photogenics'.
advantages over Photogenics - excellent
brush manipulation tools and functions are
something that Photogenics sorely misses -
and the ability to create new brushes with-
in ArtEffect is excellent. Personally I cannot
wait for version two which we should be
seeing something of by the start of
February, y~^
Bottom
Requirements
RED essential BLACK recommended
3<g£) W!l
Hard drive Workbench RAM
RTG card
Product
DETAILS
Product
ArtEffect vl. 5
Supplier
Blittersoft
Price
£79.95
Tel
01908 261466
E-mail
bsoft@wildnet.co.uk
WWW
http://blittersoft.wildnet.co.uk
Scores
Ease of use
92°/n
Implementation
85%
Value For Money
90%
Overall
89%
Amiga Computing
MARCH 1997
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■Jfcl
Oery few people like having to
enter a reason for chat, as in
MaxsChat mentioned last month.
Try setting up a different kind of
Sysop pager, one without code, using the
ANSI in this month's Max.lzx archive.
You will still use MaxsChat to drop straight
into chat after a caller has paged (if you want
to) as it's a decent front end with the split
screen chat method. The actual paging
process will be different and completely rede-
finable graphics-wise, unlike some coded
opposition.
Before this, login and press C from the
main menu to see how the built-in pager
works at the moment. Put Pagerl .ans and
Pager2.ans in your Text directory.
In Max's Configure/Text, line 37:
-*R*ll*[rHiPajing h..."
should be changed to:
<BBS:Text/Pager1.ans
and line 38:
""H'B'Cntilla has bean paged, he nay chat
interupt later. ./[[Di'M"
Jason Jordache presents the
Sysop pager with a difference
should be:
<BBS:Text/Psger2,ans
Set up Max's Configure/Menus with a key
to page the Sysop:
Key! Func: Extra: U ate: Hi act:
P31Q 100DQ
The 3 begins Max's built-in Sysop page rou-
tine. The 1 (this could be any number) refers
to how many times you'll be paged with a
screen flash and chat sample.
After you've been paged you can drop into
chat using MaxsChat or another favourite
door or press any key whilst the sample is
buzzing to use Max's internal kit. If you come
into the room when someone is on-line,
you'll know if they have paged as their name
in the info bar at the bottom of the screen will
be red with an asterix on each side. Should
they have already logged off, you can check to
see if they paged via BBS/Caller Log.
In Configure/System, the Max Pages field
can be set to 1. So, should they page a sec-
ond time on the same visit, they'll get a dif-
ferent message. Put the NotHere.ans in Text.
From Max's Configure/Text, change line 41
"*P*ll*[C1;3tiTh!re's no point catling any-
>ort!*[[C'i"m'
to:
<BBS:Text/Notfiere.ans
Overlaid screens
Max's auto insert option allows say, %e, to be
part of an ANSI screen. Instead of displaying
this like you see in HyperANSI, Max notices
i: m n x's bbs Version 1.54 Copyright a \:pmn miamatimm-h»ti
B
Text f i lenane: |bbs:nenus/Sysop . text
Hi ace: Fi lenane/Nane/Dest/Path:
Where all the options available to you and your callers are edited for &ach menu
Amiga Computing
the % as an indication that the following let-
ter of the alphabet is a special control code
for inserting information such as a users
name (%R) or the date (%c), or for forcing a
pause (%Z) normally at the bottom of a
screen. Have a look at Autolnsert.text in BBS.
As standard, two Wo side by side cancels this
function and displays just one % when
viewed through Max.
Sysops find when they use °/oR in the mid-
dle of an ANSI screen, it messes with the sur-
rounding text by pushing it to the right. To get
round this and to learn how our Sysop pager
works, auto inserts and ANSI graphics are
overlaid upon existing ANSI instead of having
it all on the one screen. You can do this with
HyperANSI.
In Hyper use Page/Next Page and
Page/Prev Page to move among screens. At
the middle bottom, in cyan, is the word Page
followed by the page you are on. Say you're
on the first screen of several, by clicking on
Page it turns to a red Trns, letting you see the
graphics appearing on successive screens.
Useful when positioning graphics to align
with other pages. You edit what is on the cur-
rent screen, but not what you see coming
through from following screens. You can only
alter those by first moving to them.
Load in Pagerl .ans on the first page. Move
to the second page and load PagerOrig2.ans,
Move to the third, load PagerOrigS.ans. On
the first page click on Page at the bottom,
turning it Transparent.
Now you see how all three pages fit
together. At this stage you may want to edit
the text and ANSI to suit your BBS, toggling
Trns on/off to save confusion. The %Y in the
top left of pages 2 and 3 give a one second
pause before displaying the graphics
beneath. You'll probably understand it all bet-
ter now when you test the pager you've
installed in Max's.
MARCH 1997
You'll probably want to re-edit screens over
time so save out each screen separately.
Saving multiple screens as one block or file
means they can't be loaded back in without
causing problems. Remember when saving to
keep an eye on the Page Range in the save
requester as you have to adjust it, e.g. "From
001 To 003" to "From 001 To 001".
Due to the Sysop pager system there are
two finished ANS! files required. One will
have page one saved under Pagerl.ans, the
second will have pages two and three saved
as Pager2.ans. The trick to clean screens lies
under the Edit menu with ANSI Parameters.
The Screen Preparation gadget should be set
to Clear. Cycle through the Inter-Page
Preparation to Home. Number of Rows at
Auto. End of Line Character can be anything
you like, as long as ANSI Code Cursor
Advance is toggled On.
You have a backup of the ANSI so with
those settings move to page 1 and save it in
Text as an ANSI under the name Pagerl.ans,
adjusting the Page Range so not to save the
rest of the pages at the same time. Move to
page 2. Alter the AN5I Parameters so Screen
Preparation reads Home. Home just sends
the cursor to the top left of the screen before
drawing the graphics instead of clearing it
first like Clear does.
Go to save, you should see the Page Range
already set "From 002 To 003". Save page 2
and 3 in this way as one file under Pager2.ans
in Text.NotHerel.ans, NotHere2.ans and
NotHere3.ans are the screens building up
NotHere.ans, for if a user pages twice, to be
edited as above.
A main menu might incorporate the talking
clock (%e). Page 2 would have %e typed and
positioned so as to fit in a gap on page 1
where everything else in the main menu is
drawn. These two would be saved as one
with Screen Prep at Clear, Inter-Page Prep at
Home and ANSI Code turned On,
Cursor repositioning
By having HyperANSI's Number of Rows set
to AUTO in the ANSI Parameters the cursor
always appears straight after the last charac-
ter towards the bottom right of a given ANSI
screen. Fine for some purposes but what if
you want the cursor to appear elsewhere?
Like in a box you've drawn, common
throughout the menus, for that aesthetic
touch.
The Workbench Ed won't do it, nor will
Final Writer. You need a text editor such as
Transwrite or CED - you've probably got
something that can handle it. Load the ANSI
1 : rl R X's BBS Version 1.54 Copyright 3 li!im£FWZ&FTiQrXM : fh?*1&M
E3
Sou stand before the iron portcullis that
to the castle proper. The »uw»ds ask for
ur full nane: Have»»ick
The larsest notts quietly to himself, seeing your nane upon liis
list. He eyes you with passive concern. Pondering what lands you
Must hawe travelled fron he begins to speak, "Stranger... what is
thy clearance word?"
Nane :
I ! on:
Recess:
Calls:
Suburb:
Tine regaining:
Messages:
lips:
Conputer:
bps :
Dns :
A taster of the ANSI you can find from the coverdisk
into CED, say your MainMenu.text. It might be
an idea to copy it to Ram while playing about
like this and temporarily change the Text
Filename field in Menu from Max's
Configure/Menus, to read
"RamtMainMenu.text".
Continuing straight from the last character
at the bottom of the ANSI text file, but don't
press return afterwards, we need this in:
CED:<esc>[1D;5H
Instead of typing <esc> you need the
reversed character you see by pressing the
escape key. Along the corridor and down the
stairs. We move along 10 characters and
down 5, and that's where the cursor lands
when viewed in Max's. It will take a few tries
before you get it spot on.
Row 253 in Configure/Text:
"Hit <Es:> nice or wait 30 seconds to enter
the IBS. .. "11*11"
is a prompt requiring change with the help
of our < command. Design yourself an
ANSI called PressEsc.ans (then place it in
Text) with the logo or name of your BBS
covering the entire screen, with a bit of info
at the bottom detailing opening times, con-
nect speeds, Sysop name and the like, plus
the essential notice paraphrasing the mes-
sage:
"Hit < t»ic« or wait 30 seconds to enter the
BBS".
This screen won't be displayed via local
login but the caller will see it and so will you
when he calls. This is your chance to make an
impression. Replace line 253 with:
<3BS;Teit/PressEsc.sns
Take a look at Logln.text in your Text draw-
er using Hyper. This is the default first screen
a caller sees after reading the hit escape one
liner. Since we've changed this by having our
first screen appear even sooner by making
amends to line 253, we no longer need the
BBS name and connect speed information
that appears in Logln.text.
To finish off, here's a couple of ideas for
when callers enter their name and password.
Replace the Logln.text in your Text directory
with the one from the coverdisk (have a back-
up of the Menus and Text directories on
standby, you may need them over the
weeks). This file will be shown straight after
PressEsc.ans and now holds the whafs your
name question.
If you logged on now it won't look right, so
in Configure/Text change line 1
"*R*REnter your full nape;"
to:
-CCSSimane; '[[37.
That should do the trick. Login and enter
your name. Looking good. But that's one dull
password prompt. Place Password.ans in Text.
In Configure/Text, replace line 3:
""H"K*[n2iEnter your password: *[[0»"
yith: [9;12B and Passuord.ans C21;?7H) as
cursor repositioning is iioleiented. save
Logln.text vitli standard clear screen.
Password. ins requires Screen Preparation
set to Hoie and ANSI Code Cursor Advance
toggled On so it overlays properly.
AJ7
HvprrBMSI US .87, Copyright g 1S53 Hike o. Ntlson
The nessage boy
h i
■
IT he is around
press the Return
drop In and he w
1 Mil ftwiuatiwa
j'jrisrj r'rapuj'jrltJrJ
r-i
craw 1 1
hit jt—Vj-j? Fr^nruri'jn
r.-i
i:-j,.j !
ij'ji^i' 'iV ru'jj
D!
a'ji'j t
ii.'J 'ji' lii^j MUiU'oaizv
Bl
w <l
.yij'l ryjrld guiaiir ii'Jvuxi'j^
[.-'
m 1
U33 1 [Isi'uulrl
^F.-llJ
Don't forget to leave a nessagp if the J— .— — qch
Sysop doesn't drop in for a ahatt
Set:m 1=, Zr, 3=<- 4=* 5=- '
Creating overlapping AHSI graphics with auto insert
codes without messing up surrounding graphics
One of the better chat doors on the market for Max's
Amiga Computing
MARCH 1997
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Amiga Computing
MARCH 1997
SPORTS, ADVENTURE -WHAT MORE COULD YOU POSSIBLY WANT?
HOW ABOUT A CLASSIC GAME, ABSOLUTELY *FREE?
SUPER TENNIS CHAMPS
has been described as
the 'Sensible Soccer' of
the tennis world. It
scores highest when it
comes to the most
important factor of all -
gameplay. Tennis games
are usually difficult to
pick up, but the intuitive
controls makes this a
doddle. Play singles or
doubles with friends or
just against the comput-
er. Before you know it,
you'll be playing at
Wimbledon! For all 1 Mb
Amigas.
wm
mm
-SAnpfy tortfcrrt* TTw On»
V
\
EXILE was a classic when first released and the ACA
version exploded the myth that you can't have great
gameplay and superb graphics in the same game.
Acclaimed Game of the Year by one magazine, it is
one of the few truly ground-breaking titles of all time.
The world of Exile feels
so real as you are
weighed down by gravity,
blown around by gusts of
wind and pummelled by
squawking birds, in fact
there are so many fasci-
nating puzzles in this true
arcade adventure that
you'll probably still be
enjoying it in the next
millennium! Versions for
A500/600, Al 200 and
CD32.
ODYSSEY continues the arcade
adventure tradition but with a feel more
reminiscent of Prince of Persia and
Flashback. You, the
hero, explore seven
mystical islands
gaining magical
powers that enable
you to morph
between different
creatures, each with
key features essential
to the completion of
your quest! For all
1 Mb Amigas.
4
MANAGER
SUPER LEAGUE
MANAGER is a football
management sim with a
difference - it's more true
to life! Instead of providing
sheaves of statistics that
just aren't available in the
real world, you must use
skill and judgement to
turn a team of no-hopers
into a League-winning
side. Versions for
A500/600 (not 1200 com-
patible) A1200 and CD32.
Audiogenic Software is the oldest games publishers in the UK,
with a history dating back to 1979 - long before the Amiga was
invented. Now there's a chance for Amiga Computing readers to
obtain a copy of Audiogenic's first Amiga game, Impact (pub-
lished way back in 1987), totally free when you buy two or more
games from this page.
'SPECIAL DEAL FOR AMIGA COMPUTING READERS!
Buy any of the four great Audiogenic titles on this page for £9.99
plus £1.25 postage and packing per order. Buy two or more games
and Audiogenic will send you the Impact disk completely free!
Send your cheque (made out to Audiogenic Software Ltd) to:
Amiga Computing Offer
Audiogenic Software Ltd
Winchester House
Canning Road
Harrow HA3 7SJ
Alternatively phone 0181 424 2244 between 10.30am
Monday to Friday to place your order by credit card.
Please state Amiga model when ordering.
6pm
A
) /
rak
the ski
uildhall's budget
^^Nflight sims
/>//,
1 r^
_^
/
t
r^~
i
'r
/
Hugh Poynton investigates the latest news
stories in the Amiga gaming scene
Good news for the Amiga this month. Guildhall and
Vulcan appear to be largely responsible for keeping
the Amiga format well supplied with quality games,
both old and new. Guildhall is releasing a selection
Gun Fury
One of the Guildhall '97 releases is Binary
Emotion's new thinking man's shoot -em up -
Gun Fury. Despite the slightly disturbing sound-
ing working title. Binary Emotion's latest release
looks like it will be a challenging puzzler/shoot -
em up.
Trie aim of the game is to repel waves of alien
invaders with your - as the camp bloke in Alio
Alio used to say - 'liddle tank'. The aliens are var-
ious colours and as you shoot one, your tank
turns that colour - you can then only shoot
another alien of the same colour. A fairly simple
premise, but often the simplest games are the
best Gun Fury should be ready in a few weeks,
so we'll bring you a preview as soon as we can.
of veteran titles that many PC owners will be secret-
ly wishing they could get their hands on and Vulcan
is continuing to expand its impressive range of new
games.
Sixth Sense
Investigations
Jus* one more ting sir - Columbo
style detective puzzles in Epic's
Sixth Sense Investigations
Epic Marketing is to publish a new game from called Sixth Sense Investigations. The game, being developed
by Swiss developers CineTech, is a comedy graphic adventure about a buddy buddy detective team who
solve the problems and mysteries of their rich clients. The twist is that in their investigations they are aided
by the spirit of a sarcastic old bloke.
Written in a style reminiscent of Sam and Max, Sixth Sense Investigations makes use of the VEGA graph-
ics adventure system which allows it to run at 50 frames a second and enables the player to zoom in on
the various characters. The A1200 based game should be ready for release by April.
If you have Aminet 15 or have been downloading files from
the Aminet, you might have come across a remarkable game
called Genetic Species. Although it looks like a very profes-
sional product, Genetic Species was in fact developed by a
young Danish coder, Per Bloksgaard. Part of an informal
scene group called Ambrosia, Per has been developing the
game for the last two years on his Amiga 4000.
The latest news is that Genetic Species and Ambrosia have
been signed to Vulcan software, virtually assuring the success
of this potentially huge Amiga game. Developer Per intends
to make the final version of the game networkable, so maybe
the Amiga will have its own Marathon within the year.
The storyline isn't hugely different from any other Doom
clone, in this case you are a soldier with orders to destroy
genetically altered aliens that have overrun a moon base. As
in Doom, various weapons lie around the playing area wait-
ing for you to pick them up and waste some Extra Terrestrials.
Vulcan believes that Genetic Species should be nearing
completion within the next three months so keep your eyes
peeled.
Graphically impressive alien bashing action from Vulcan
AMIGA ACTION MEWS
Good enough location
for a fight, I'd say
\ ili'^^J^***^^^^ more
responsible for developing V
3 V viable project- ^ on the ^ £*£, ^ $0
Mv5 t first aPPf^'J Th - is d emo was found to be a
The Strangers
Slovakian software development team, Ablaze Entertainment has completed its
first project. The Strangers. Although the project is finished, Ablaze are at present
looking for a distributor.
I have only played a demo version of the game but it looks like it could be
fun. The story is pretty simple - you are in a factory with a bunch of homicidal
nutters, all intent on beating you up. Your mission is to beat the stuffing out of
them first.
Unlike traditional beat-em ups such as Street Fighter, The Strangers offers you
the opportunity to knee somebody in the groin (at which your unfortunate
adversary will double up with a rather concerned expression on his face). The
dress sense of the protagonists is another endearing feature of this game - the
bloke you control looks like Jean Claude Van Damme after experimenting with
mind expanding drugs. Puke green trousers and a luminescent blue T-shirt - no
wonder there are people out to beat him up.
From what I've seen, The Strangers looks like a fun beat-em up that could do
well if it finds a distributor, so watch this space. For further information mail
Ablaze at: kraviargvadium.sk
Ooof, hoofing in the nuts is definitely
not Queen's rules, you bounder
Guildhall Releases
Guildhall is to release four titles in the New Year, as well as increase its back
catalogue with classic games from Microprose and Electronic Arts. In addition
to the Microprose releases mentioned in last months Amiga Computing,
Guildhall will be re-releasing 3D Coif, Covert Action, F15 II, Grand Prix, Rail
Road Tycoon, and Silent Service. Electronic Arts games include PGA Golf, FIFA
Soccer, Theme Park, Desert Strike, Wing Commander and the (in my opinion)
absolutely classic Road Rash.
Guildhall will be also be responsible for the distribution of Manyk's Euro
League Manager and Basket Island, and Binary Emotion's Minskies Furball's
and Gun Fury.
■4Mki°>
OUJID FACIL
.rjojjLioHrsJt'
SCDPEDOf.P.Dj^
— ^^***.
Manyk's now
footy s/m - Euro
League Manager
Road Rash, one of Guildhall's classic re-releases
NEWS AMIGA ACTION
■■■■■■> ^^nm
ACTION PREVIEW
SPACE SIM
Hugh Poynton
tries his hand
at Applause's
latest
intergalactic
tinker
simulator
Mi (w
■ ■■'
I was tired and hungry, I'd just
been released from [ail for (he
fourth time and only had enough
money to buy a snack in a dodgy
pub. The letters page in the Big
Issue? An exert from Trainspotting?
No, actually that was the state my
character was in after playing Cygnus 8.
It's a strange game. Although the basic
idea behind it has been done many times
before (trade goods, both dodgy and
straight across the galaxy and
attempt to get rich) the idea has
never been approached like this.
Graphically the game has a very
cartoony feel to it; there are none of
the polygon models and texture
mapped planets of, say. Elite
Frontier. Instead the space travel sections
play like Astro Blaster and the planet based
trading parts include destinations such as
The Pub and Jail and give you the option of
breaking and entering various premises.
Although quite cute looking, Cygnus 8 is
like a psychotic hamster - deceptively
vicious. You may think there's nothing to the
game, that it's purely about trading the same
boring old commodities. Well you'd be
wrong. If you don't drop into the pub every
day and feed your face and get some sleep
(which costs a lot of money), your health
will decline inexorably. You need to be
rning quite a lot to do this comfortably, so
if you're not exactly excelling at
interplanetary trading, you'll probably take
the slippery path to theft and drug abuse that
It was all so easy to begin with - wander
round the deserted planet and break into
factories and stores. This pays off when
you're lucky, but the money required to buy
your way out of jail is so extortionate you'd
probably prefer to spend a week in the
slammer. However, if you haven't got
enough money to buy food or shelter, your
health will decline to such an extent that
Spaceport officials won't allow you fly your
spaceship. To be totally honest, at this stage,
the graphics aren't really very good and the
preview version we received didn't have
any sound. Despite this, Cygnus stands out
on account of its originality and the funny
little touches which set it apart from other
trading games. I mean, getting tired? You
never flaked out from exhaustion if you
hadn't found digs for the night in Elite. If
you want a detailed space trading
simulation game pick up Frontier, but if you
just want a Del Trotter in hyperspace, space
cockney muck about, you could do worse
than investigate Cygnus 8.
AMIGA ACTION P
ACTION FEATURE
GADGETS
"I'm a control freak",
Hugh Poynton is
often heard muttering.
Who better then to test Logic 3's
new range of peripherals?
SpeedMouse
The AM SpeedMouse is a budget:
mouse and looks like one. This may
sound like a criticism, but I'd prefer
lo think of it more as an observation.
The plastic is bright shiny white and
unfortunately renders the thing quite ugly
and tacky looking. Also the two function
buttons, although they do their job, look and
feel almost flimsy.
Having said this, the SpeedMouse does
its job without problems. I used the AM
Mouse both for workbenching on the Amiga
and game control on Vulcan's JetPilol, in
both cases it proved to be quite smooth and
fast.
So there you go. if you want inexpensive
hui decent computer peripherals you could
do worse than look at Logic 3's range.
JJJJJ
For a budget joystick
the AM Attack
joystick looks
quite cool. It has that''
flared and mean look about it
and although it doesn't have a
myriad of buttons and switches, sti
looks a little as if somebody has wrenched
it out of a nearby jet plane. Finished off in
matt black and blue, the AM Attack is well
produced for a budget peripheral.
Like the control pad, the AM Attack did its job
well whilst playing games. The control was quick
and responsive and presented no problems, it also felt
quite strong and sturdy. If I have a criticism of the AM
Attack, it concerns the design of the base. Trivial
though it may sound, for some reason the suckers
don't always attach themselves to the desk and
the joystick base itself is too large to hold in
one hand comfortably, unlike other
Amiga joysticks. However,
fc|^, despite this, it's a
^k good choice
AMAttack Digital Joystick
\% I
AMActionPad
I love it when a handful of peripherals
come through the post and land on my
desk. There's a good reason for this. In
order to test each peripheral enough to
do it justice you really should play test it
considerably - not just on one game, oh no,
but three or even four. Its not just a method
of skiving, it is a sacrifice I make to ensure
my journalistic integrity.
Needless to say when Logic 3 sent us
three of its latest budget Amiga peripherals I
look it upon myself to ensure they got well
and truly tested.
First up is Logic 3's new control pad for
the Amiga. The AMActionPad is a pretty
functional but aesthetically pleasing gaming
peripheral for all Amigas. The layout of the
pad is pretty much identical lo the Sony
PlayStation control pad with an eight
directional digital output pad on the left and
a pair of function buttons on the right. Across
the top is a pair of PlayStation style shoulder
buttons.
The pad is no-nonsense, functional,
ergonomically well designed
and fits snugly into the
hand. Build quality is
good, although
inescapably plasticky,
it nevertheless feels
sturdy and strong.
Control wise the pad
behaves exactly as it
should, and is pretty
easy to learn to use. A
good buy.
AMIGA ACTION FEATURE
ACTION REVIEW
FLIGHT SIM
THE LOW-DOWN
PUBLISHER Vulcan Software
DEVELOPER In house
CONTACT 01705 670269
DISKS 4
PRICE £16.99
MACHINE All Amigas
(IMeg min)
ave you ever seen the simulator
rounds on The Krypton Factor? The bit
where Kenneth the systems analyst
from Chelmsford has to sit in a Boeing
simulator and attempt to land il at Hong Kong
International. He sweats, gnashes his teeth and
grimaces until he's crashed into the Hilton
Hotel just to the left, shrugs and hopes for
better luck on the manual dexterity round. The
whole process looks fiendishly complicated
but somehow you wouldn't mind a go
yourself.
letPibt gives the opportunity to do just this.
It would be safe to say that what Vulcan is
offering here is pretty much she most realistic
flight simulator written for the Amiga. Needless
to say this means it requires patience, skill,
intelligence and about five hand--.
Almost every aspect of flying a modern jet
has teen reproduced here including flight
parameters that come within 1 per cent of
real aircraft, changing weather conditions and
27 air bases from the Eastern Mediterranean to
Scotland, letpilot is absolutely packed full of
options - there are three planes you can fly:
The Lightning, Srarfighter or Mig 21 , on a huge
variety of missions from formation flying to
combat intercept missions.
To be honest, letpilot is something you will
either love or hate, it really depends on what
you look for in a computer game. It isn't
something you can just play for 1 5 minutes
while waiting for Neighbours to start. Because
At the risk of sounding
inane, this piane is the
coolest cos it looks so smart
This is the
chopped and
lowered version
Ha! Beat him from the
lights, c'mon you big girl,
catch up!
of the complexity of the simulation you really
need to get to know the game and practice
flying the jets and using features such as the
radio communications and ground tracking.
Because of the inherent realism,
the planes despite being quite easy
to handle, aren't as forgiving as
in other less realistic sims -
take off too steeply and the
tail will drag on the ground
and destroy the plane. Land
too fast and the tyres will
burst. Jetpilot is a very
impressive product and flight
sim buffs will Ik happy as pigs
in mud, however I do get the
feeling the game will appear too ^**i|^
complicated and perhaps intimidating for
those who aren't as well aquatinted with sims.
This said, letpilot is a step forward for the
Amiga. Spec wise the game is pretty hungry
but it shows Ihe strength of the computer -
there isn't, to my knowledge, a game that
comes near it on ihe PC in terms of realism
and detail. The graphics are excellent, the
planes are realistic right down to the smallest
detail with even individual markings visible.
The geography is completely detailed and
realistic - take off from a North Wales air base
and you II be able to see Anglesey in one
direction and the Wirral in the other.
JetPilot will run on pretty much any
Amiga but, like many of Vulcan's
new products, favours higher
/spec machines. On a 1 MB or
; 2MB system some features
I will have to be disabled.
I However, on a souped up
A1200orA400Qlhe
simulation will run like a
dream. If you have a fairly
high spec Amiga and are a flight
sim buff this game is tailor made
for you.
Some mention also has to be made
of the price - at £1 6.99 JetPilot is very
competitively priced for such a high quality
game, you will certainly get your moneys
worth out of this one. The simplest missions,
such as just taking off and circling are
complicated enough to master, so with 20
qualification missions and loads of combat
missions there is more than enough to keep
you occupied for donkeys years.
ca
AMIGA ACTION FEATURE
fl/D Installable
Trach Editor [with enample tracks)
Spectacular erosions
•i _ player joystick adaptor support
flew weapons
5 new tile and object sets:
Hell Below ^ :...
Lurue Land
Gotham City
Duplo
AM only
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ACTION REVIEW
SHOOT-'EM-UP
s ror%epts
I've heard of loads of weird games <
years ■nig blue blobs down-hill
skiLdfigMunyrs, dinosaurs and nMjJnrooms
go-karting roumfcink race tracks, amy
multicoloured h tflgehogs running about eating
stars^owever, Tommy Gun, Mutation's second
release, is basically millierthan a Snickers bar.
f Thai's not a criiic ism, Tomm\ fin- e brilliant.
The ( oncopl is weird and origin,:!, the graphics
exi i 'I lent and the whole game is a breath of
t resii • 1 1 : i ■ i ■. ed ir^pT'off ice on one of those
dull wintry Wednesdav mornings when you
wished you could'vc had just another halt hour
in bed and there's still quite a way to go until the
weekend, lb n>ted up the machine and within
1 minute I wa.s playing wild a big smirky
smile on my face.
The aim of the game is simple: The
bad guys (who range from
^ vegetables to lobsters
''^^^ depending on the level)
^^ ^^B^ s have taken over five
^^^t ^^k /ones and capture
^^^^ Tommy's buddies.^
^^ job as Tommy the !
team Tomato (or sidi
Cheese) is to blast •
through, shooting
the bad guys and
blowing the
padlocks of the little
cages in which your
mates are
imprisoned. The
game reminds
This is the best level. It's iike a cross between
Muppet's Treasure Island and The A Team.
4
i fc i i fe
Don't ask...
me in concept
basically bei
gallery.
The gra
troll past
a\ thri
lairs
grocery
libera:^ i
rfommy C
upid but fu
rive-by sup'
mater, with the basis
ays scrolling shooting
re very good. The screens
I he killer tomato side steps his
e level. By directing the cross
joystick, the offending evil
be blown apart, and the zone
(sjusl saturated with really
iv little touches. For instance the
-et gerkiris - mean gangsta-
style gerkiris who fly past you in a trolley with
guns blazing, or the paratrooper carrots who
shoot away while drifting down from the
supermarket ratters. And this is just in one level
Another priceless addition is the fact that when
you do shoot the lock off one of your buddi
ages they jump out, throw you a power up
isandshoui ''I hank You in a voice that
ike .m inebriated smurf on helium.
However, despite being a genuinely
enjoyable, fun game. Tommy Gun .
does have a few detracting
points, although ihey are
admittedly minor
criticisms. It might be
fact that ! haven't
played it long enough
but it is pretty difficult ■
even on the easy levels iherej
are so many baddies that
surviving to even half way is ,
mean feat.
Having said this the game is vert
addictive. You rind yourself thinking,!
one more ganfflKind I'll crack it - this bal
between bein^nnoyinglv frustrating and
challenging? the secreUpRnaking an addictive
^^ bu
game.
-Jvjjim
it doesn't match up to
rms the presentation is of
concept is original and
s easily enough
payability to keep you
SK'ay lor a fair while.
THE LOW-DOWN
PUBLISHER Mutation Software
DEVELOPER Inhouse
CONTACT 01705 672616
PRICE £14.99
DISK5 1
SUPPORTS All Ami gas
When grocery products start
shooting up the local supermarket,
who ya gunna call?. ..Hugh Poynt
AMIGA ACTION REVI
ACTION FEATURE
INVESTIGATION
Aurora!
HUGH POYNTON investigates the work of
new Canadian Amiga developer, Aurora
Aurora
K ■ S
Perversely, as the future looks more and
more gloomy tor ilie Amiga, small
software and games publishers have
sprung up. As larger developers and
publishers have almost raced each other to
abandon the format, smaller, more dedicated
niche software companies emerge to fill the
vacuum. For those who have exploited the
situation, the rewards have been great.
Developers such as Binary
Emotions and
publisher/developers such as
Vulcan have laid claim to a still
lucrative market.
Aurora is one of these
brave new Amiga dedicated
developers. This Canadian based
games company has declared it
is dedicated to supporting the
Amiga and at present has three
games underdevelopment. Although Aurora
intend to produce games that can be run on
a bog standard A1200, it is also interested in
developing for higher spec machines and
even the eagerly awaited next generation
Amigas such as the Phase 5 A/Box Amiga
Compatible.
Aurora currently has three
games in development for
release in 1 997. The first is a two player
action game called Zone 99. Due for release
in March 1997, Zone 99 promises to be a
blend of action, strategy and puzzle that
requires brains as well as fast reactions.
The aim of the game is to pilot your
hover tank around 99 levels attempting to
find your way to the final zone. This is done
by collecting clues as to the zone's
whereabouts on every level. To do this you
will have to solve various puzzles and,
depending on the level, battle against, or
work with, the other player.
Each level will be different from the last
with underwater, space and jungle zones. As
zones are completed and clues found,
modifications will be made available for the
hover tanks. Although at the moment
planned as a serial linked game, Aurora has
plans to add TCP/IP so the game can be
played over the Internet.
Aurora is also working on an
RPC/puzzler mix - Betrayed - we are told it
will comprise of seven chapters each
containing four levels. Despite the
project being in its early
stages, there are a
few things that
we do know
about the
game, it is set
in a research
station on a distant
moon from which a
scientist, betrayed by his
superiors, must escape. It will be a scrolling
game on an impressive scale with the largest
evel 19 screens across and 19 down.
Because of the size and complexity of the
game Betrayed will only be available on
CD-Rom.
Betrayed isn't scheduled for release until
November 1997 and Aurora has a number
of other projects in development including a
galactic conquest war game and a texture
mapped spaceship simulator. On top of this
it is already starting work on the second part
of the Betrayed adventure.
Keep your eyes on Aurora, its projects
ook impressive and in defiance of the
Amiga's doom sayers, it has a list of projects
planned for well into 1998.
FEATURE AMIGA ACTION
rci
"mm
o
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U1D(» LOTTO LUd*CYV2Upd-.telv,--.i ,::■.,. ..-■■: ■ ■
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U!KertAnD-wA.iF ■-r-. J ^-;,;.E u .Mfl«*rioi
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Chtcaw Kl I iwy nwt . HIGHLY R€ COW WE NO
COMPATIBLE WITH ALL *">CA
5 disk l 4.99
iCrAjiiid6tii
This S disk pack contain 19 il
: .r>cM.ir ii nualrty ft orKjin^t,
...■'■ 1 .'i0RIGIfJi.L
COMPATIBLES WITH AIL AMIGA
£4.93
G212 MEGA 21 GAMES arriving 21 gsrnw
G235 DRAGON-CAVE bnUanl ID puule gamfli.
G2I0 OUADRIX van Wdkrl oKCdhnt
G242 TAKE EM OUT like lo Operation wolf
0253 DESTINE MOQtl BASE AiraUt, ComwahK
gmo«ia ero**TEiHi-x mi invaders.
QH| WMEHSON X I plmr LJGHT CYCLE GAME
G3ID nEFJUlAR Eictrltnf 3D *hoot am up
G3I6 GALACTIC E lUi lll ffl e le-vel* ircade
G317 HYPER-BALL Speed Dili -lovet editor
G330 GHOST-SKIP Very ncod 3D acfter.ture
GJls BATTLEMENT hunch b* E *..<af nolda
CJ25 MEGA GAME COLLECTIONS HI 1 lspg«n«
-:■;■■ ■.■ADC-,',i r,L : C! i ,, i^:LL> fs.- -e- erl,
G33t GRAVTTYmBSvivo<pa«eiplorirha ganrw
Q3H CYBER N ' , : i.i*==^r
r; vi : ljl>-iKEY K.ONC. -{AiaOO order code AGA2MJ
G:(3SCRA;v lslil: ii i;--,i , !<l ^rniodal?
0343 SUPER SKODA CHALLENGE i* tratk tdiifift)
0344 STAR-TREK ihmibr to RAIDZ bulftaider
G3S? DOODY very euln £ ntirmrl/ addict
G3S& WONDER LAND anuulng grupliio recommad
G362 DELUXE PACMAN . twit paEman *ve- rdtm
GJiT CARD GAMES toliottipn
G34H WIZARD-OOMAJNS-dugeon type aarpes
&370 KALATR1Z jrtoiAIICQ) aJcade letriz ciorw
03T3 AIR ACc fl Vwy ptayabtt ihooi em up
Q3M OTHELLO besl ^O warjiaft
r.r v. yC'JSE IV"OSStQLL -efy; addf^HYe pUJiS^
• . - 1 rETREM TOOfl palish lp'iie«ver redraw
Q3«STRIKbBI tnHdorw
f'. : : n 1 FlrtlLLILA'f n hnllBnt (Tiol At 300)
GMKt FtGHTIHO WAIiniCrfl l*o ilreel flgfiwr
04M DOMINOES wly ww r>t« Ktn*onl>0
fJIOfi TOTAL WARS *ti»icjy hi>r ch<*i in tp*et
[i.n L'ATTtr CAH2-30c*rraekifl
Otil NESIER CABO GAME- houTS ot lun (or » <p&-
GA3S ROiiLETE acneacan roulete *iceUerrt
G43B TSMLSULTEB 2 CM convenku
G441 E-TYPE 2* very goori imarold great graphic
&M3 OL£HFUU> DISKJJO) Qiyrnpfc sport event*
'•-.■.-: -f^Z^'Z'L- (ii.'JE M.-.l. ;f.-ch a S5W1WI
044S CSUDOX enceJIaot AicaaWPto^e gem*
itlic tw-Mka-ul
Ci-12 ROAD TO HEL.L brmanl ear racing
G544 SUPERTOrJ CAT New vinlCJil ihoor am up.
C545 KUIIGFU CHARLIES mbC with platfcim brllH
GS4lfi RAID 4 latent uarilcal acroll ahaot era up
GS^ OUlZMASTEf* very gped quii prOsramti
Cf JS2 ELEVATION garneB bate on lift 77
OHO IMPERIAL WALKER -Que on STAR WAR names
□S4TST4JU3AS£ I! B I hi MONKEY ISLAND
Gib? AMOS LOADSA MONEY t»*t FRUIT-MACHINES
G664 NEIGHBOUR GAUES 130) b*s* on she TV $*ri«
GMS TIME RUNNER iWBLl! BrillaM grasfii:
q*67 GOLF jZDtSKj Ona or ina (nil Iffletiii GOLF
&M9 AMOS CRICKET 3 New Aimn Cricks srriiulaiCf
GG72 JIGSAY/ (2DISK) \*>y Llaynbre f-oww games
C.t71 HOBE3Y GAnCEI. . DirjCiLR (NEW) Br.Tlanl
■ ■:. ■■ ..'I DC I INEFUI =ir rjicin'q (nolwbtJ)
OtSI AUTQMOHlLtS - PV vrriion nit SKID MARK torlP
" .vj;i, Hniimi rrult inachlri»j d*m«
BUZZ BAH JBtWrnnt a*leTOid
CA49 GUN FIGHT {nol ASOTi I 1>
&6*) THE REAL POPEYE H (aSOO 1.3 onM
G692 SYSTEM DEFE.-iO-Bi.ibr.t 0*f-wiBer dotw
GG3S AMtGA^OY-Gemt boy omyiaoi * i«rii
r.732 OETHtU. IK SPACE. FWcommed.
G735 OVERLANDER E.-.lbni nicado MOON ALERT
[,. i- SEROUS BACKGAMMON The beat nn PD BG
0771 ^iTAH WOlD (J Disit^brHlam Thrusl
Gi!7l HAG TO RICHES - !■■- MOtJOPLV
Printer Pack
5 cjVsk pacfc mltni a'/ the latest printing progiams
specially designed tor printing Out high quality
documents, text A pictures etc and it is even able
to print out AS Booklets (very bandy}, Eltsy to use.
A must tor any Amiga 0>Y/l*7_H'/ ; frjJ l R , fKW
Printer Pack [5 disks) only £4,99
m jjAiwes rtatmi
attMAjBUnaei
Only £9.99
eotji Kro paints. *up*rt
E002 COLOUR IT brll&nt __
EOO-i: TREASURE SEARCH Rnd rhe hiddefl S
L0O4 LEARN & PLAY (not A1200)many matra 4 gamea
I on I UW & PLAY ll more educaiien prop/arr»*
E«J<j SPA!i:SM TnAt.f LA3 Oil '-,;:■ n-,..r-,- -!.i:] =h
EOOfl MR MEN (WQl. loillyj hdllnnl Blory adicnjuro
£ 0TI EDUCA TION PACS_t
pack witft doiens of educaiion program* ranging tVo-rn
"i!ns. Kience to e-c-jcarcnj; garnes racenmend st'l
at'.* for any Amiga. 5 diK pact orlir E4.55
I E020 WORLD DATABASE fjQj.rr r.2-m*g)
lisE MO
E100 LITTLE TRAVELER imfomatlon on worEC «ias
ElOt WORLD err.".*-/.:-: !/■.-,■. - l .-. :,■-,-. 4 :■■.:
E1C3 DISCOVERY OF THE ATOM, lulenal en m* Atcm |ID)
C104 DESK. TOP GUIDE Hi Mumc. :■ l:^ qu.de A tutorial
Eirj? TRUMPTY FIREWORK ALPllARET Very cntrHsrim;]
way to t04Ch YHur Eh|ld Ihrj ALPHABET
I |H MOW TQ DFLOVOPE PHOTO t (!) E»wiient
E1DS MR MEN OLYMPIC OD) mfiny event lo compEcfo
E110 CULT TV DATABASE [2D1 Unfa on earty TV lerin
.. -'- . ■-••L PhOTO: LTIde-evopeyOLif own.
EH< ELETRONJC WORLDSJ3DJ CorLpie-.c KJimti BIBLES
E11SMOWTHE EARTH BEGAN-theory how the BIG BANG
eiolode arJ create all t!\* fx & galaiy
EllBW0flKS£Nr;H?rL!5n!iJ Bfl Work 9en& 2
E113 DCNO WAR Qua o" atoHHH
CSJ14 WIPE OUT-mindkwi Difl»Hng g»rri»o
GDIS GODZILLA Another ihootirm up
QBH SUPER MECAFHUII- All nary Hull Machine
G&aa DRIViNG MANIAC JO ;'i.i sector Ilka
ir.uj&Kjj tsit raiiriQ. vaiy t M i. RECOMMEND
l\f.Rj pLanET PALL - Luncr Landar clone
GB31 BUCK TOOTH AfjvEiiTuRE Vtry goodmutij
Ic. el rtw otJtoO fccJ em up FECOMMENO
G,-".? "ENGC 2- '."•m V.L-.-e'T-i-i nr;5^:T^d
&■ '/J ='J"£S C3Lir=r.;':: ;', ijiDSt Hlwcitf very
s.m-Ur id PAMG 2 Lot of weapon RECOMMEND
C.F-1-I^UPERINVASiC'i : ri-S.VADER
C-B'*7 THE SHEP'EFirj ElrLlwnl POPULUS clone. REC
G4M fiUEN GENOCIDE |?i Shaol ali*ns *eitrnpace.
GBLll PLFCKMAN Gnrt cl it r brji| B i PacMari orjound.
GHO0 SUPERBATTLf ifOriE-30 (not WOl.3)
O901 M'A'S'M s (ANTWAP 3> ptev wyttfrnJar lo
LEMUtriO 4 WORM.vritri load ot Wa*pon (fSriiEimi)
:■; T-uiPleva^WWrmsajii*
GttQS CBSERTECM (2} UCUffll ALIEN OS£EO CV"«
OWJ/ACESPACEi __
G*ce COLO^mW-AKlA sSdaVKbrinx lyp* pozzto ganm
G51C HARHY^AODOCK- SraLant piarfarmer games
OS"TZ MANGLE FENDER -BJiiMni. Smash up cttwr
carpark eel to vim. exlrcn-ly .uridicfrd. a«! -■
WES CLASSIC Vol 1^2
L021 STORY LAND j BHfMI duus» ga
1 "i vou4 I
>OKI "
E02S SCRABBLE naH&tHMW. bnffint
L0ZZ LANGUAGE TUTOR Testti you4 (ungiuge
IURINO BOOK talking O
rnprovs your hid tpellir
iKUik.ngOpaln1brll
E120 JUNIOR MATHS Great lewnlng aid lor ta^n
OUMEND
il JIGSAWtypegarn
AMW I?
ntri»mBl}i»Li!j 1 ret,; RECOMMEND
1 PU«LE "
E02G WORDS a
E0I7 OSWALD Very coiaurful large cartoon game
Eoid EVOLUTION Bre*d your otvn hybrtd
L33S lO TEST . lO GAMES pack l ajcallenr
EQ33 TYPING TbiDOR vtry gaoa typing tudor
E035 CHESS HELPER h* n.-?.--,^. hs«1 a pay
E036 BASIC ria"OOR team abom Arrvga S^. ; --:
KID DISKS 1,2.3.4,5
Eicel'lenT colloclian of cducnilon programs. Ideal lor
teaching kidl vsnaui iub|ocls whlW relalnrng Ihe Ijn
4 geme elamant. 5 diifei only E4.S5 or order separately
lor only Mp per dn.li. P[ilfl[_Coo> KID DISK 4 lb, 1-j
EDUCA TION & 21 GAMES PAC K
Coll«Cllon o^ >"■': '*ry fcr-i! al i-Sj.i.il-qn prHgiari-;
a 21 games pack, a wry popular r — "~
■ ' - -i*^ pack tr
on all An
jjMSd
G913 ARCADE GAMES CLASSIC Vol
^J{Idj
04IH AMOS CRICKET crtther. g,*rrifjs
G4&B EXTREAM VILONGE 2 playfrr betlir out
. ■■ ■ I •.',-'■: ■-,-,. -.! . .:■.,;■ ■■ ■
G1W ZOUBIES & DEFENDER 2 taniiritie game*
G-154 UERCANERY SIMULATION 30 mrara game*
C159 LIFE -5>muiairon ve*y irl-Breit'TiS
.-. :.;:■ TF-r^f i.i'i Tmii of tevel last arcad*>.
GM1 KLAW7 THE KAT-crcat etatfcrti gamp*
Qi 1 1 HJGHHAV HELL like SPY HUNTER on the C$^i
G?31 OPERATION FlfiESTOKMS-brUlant
G13i CASTLE KUMQUAT tMOtt to Alien breed
G435 BLACK DAWN N H Hi -r.inl i : UWeatun
;.-.;n mojiia s.-s Tnw'iii^M Ountjirort A dragon
;:;.":" BRIDGE Goad" vuriion of E-rDdge-i
05U) ORK ATTACK bloody edYefiture
9QUflj M»rtWiiJW:s*tta» >rldW«
J . «MMM«l«^ll))|rl«M
* "* e7.aly E-f<-^^
G7T3 FRUIT MANIA -fiijum Fiu.irnachlne.
G77-J TH1CKLE TREAT |lk D DOOM on Itw PC
GtrS FOOTBALL MAHAGEHncy v»r S ion
G7JO SOLO A5SAULT 3D lika Wing Ccmmortfl.
Qrn SEED OF DARKNESS- Br Ulanl graphic adven
OTWHAHOPLYSupertJ*: '
G7BSTHEGREA7 GOLD R
G7B7 AHT WARV1.S (LATEST) not lj
.■ : - :£!.C-VCr*r='l -l-.'f..!! V-..;
".TV"- TA'EK =ORCl -■,'•,■ qi-.3d V-!.r! SHADOW clor-e
G7SH0 GREEN FfVE Amwnc 30 grjpnl.c liite
=-':::-:"; --;AL BINGO CALLER
C79; MARTIAL SPRIT Ilka Street nghlerll
0794 6 EXCELLENT CAP D GAMES coMerbon
G8C9 &L1T7 5 fast .action shooting games
G8T0 EJtTT 13 Srillam puxita
G311 TEMPORAL MJSPLACEMENT-sraphic adyenlu'*
GB12 AOAYATTHE RACE-VGoodriorse — -
G430 3DULDER ORIGINAL »nh BQ levol
0.6.2 1 BOULDERDASH c*vo/lev*i Conikrucllan kit
G5?2 RQULDER COLLECTION: i'j iW ir.tl (2dlak>
: -ulOER PACK wnit- M0 level ori4»#»
G&M ALl£N NET WORK-new Spacing invadm
GH2 BATTLE FORCE aicelktnl text adventure.
DM3 GNUCHESS th« b»»t <mh with 10 level
&K3 SWORD QF YIGO Graphic, advanture
, -.- -:;.Er--t.Thi: r = r 1 or Jnlay^
■" = - ■- .■■'■■ r.GTETRIZ
0370 CHESS tl 4 CHECKER One ot the best around
mus! lor all CHESS or CHECKER player
G871i GRAVITY FORCE S 1 or 2 player thrust clono
aa20 LOTTERY PROFFESJQNAL Thi* version use
CWI MONOPLY. (boflid gnmesj Thn bell yerilon
G522 JET WILLY 3 ■ Me*" em pLuEQtm giniK
QMS SuclDE-UACMINE Cwel-on v»dl »Iyie
C92* ZAXJtOw 3D Sjpero 054 3D blaster game*
raagi SOINO v%- Graat ptatformer. recommend
G374PUrfTER-Ar.iffia!eftorierecinariamaa
taSWABCADE J-GSAV; :.: -:.-..■:.■ L:G-; K.-.',
GUaC .'.HEEL CHAIR GLAOfTOR-Very fun to ptsy
NfOHG
•'.>-' -r'-SLE-Hll IM NM arcade puHle.
G933 BLACK DAWH 3-Tr-E Nl-W i3LGI?ifiHNG (!)
Suparb 3D adwonture. RECOMMEND
. ^ G934 R3 ROCKET {NEWlvery good roefcat* flames
inn gsrnei G335 RATTLE SHIP- !h* I nesl PD wr- --
G93G LAST LAP - Fast car taclng
"gamehintsTcheats
0«?naYftTJfinibaHll*n$MeO«rWHto
ipm&HtotftrtoA Kliw rt^poteflLBcddhebT"
rJj^'3irtto!t!Ki26Jjf( , 95
C-01FI AI.IIQA TUTORIAL 1 liirt lulor.r.1
BH COMPUTER CaRE how 10 cara sbout AMIGA
E040 GUIDE TO LOWER BACK PAlM lulonal ova
1-pln-e 4 how to fl*Gld back pnm iVrcaxirrcnd"!
E041 KID ALPHABET dacAy mi jilphabai l#n*r
E04J FRACTION « SJLOUE5T r«thi A jartiM b*ctl»nl
MATH MltaiCTa MBM iajrli a a il ITIWf OB mB9»
£044 STEAM ENGINE V2 sr»ph. t 4 lulonal
E045 PETRCL ENGINE UkHM 4 animate graphic
E04EGASTU.RE. '.E £NGi?-E "j^crLj & imm grapfti
t:-i- S'R. 'ijEVCME lutanaJ 4 anm grepVik;
EQ5C DREAM FOR A.-.GEL eiplan the rrwaniFvg el *wm
EMI INVlSlRLE WORLD onSlanl recommend
EMS FISH TANK urn your emlga into a FTSHTANK
L0S4 DEMOLITION MKSlON umpla game for kid
ED55 WORD POV/EH soivo tio^iwojfl puzzle act good,
EDS6 WORM HOLE li-npie gam* ideal lor children,
E0S7 APPLE CATCHER catch tilling apple brilliant
I DH CROSS TJIAZE A CRYPTOKHJG 2 excellent krf r. ,-,.■>.,
BOBS VERB QUIZ find th* word 4 ii related. B-rii
ErjfVI KING JAMES BIBLE |4d) comptfta b--b*m StOti
I E»M TARROT eiaavcyanl in a instance
I E0c-! GAUUOW tpnpwi games ol h*r>g man?
E070 HATH DRILLS laacfl ad basic mam skill Vgosd
E07' ERROR INFO gi'< mfo wny ycur amiga craali
E075 WORLJ>WAR 2 giapnic* tuloriat on WORLD- WAP
rettnte c-ccrarr: eg simLi'jie Siarprooei moiecuba' ect
E-C75 SCIENCE an eice«Bn! eoliWioii ot science
ideal loc all who interesting or studied in science
recommend this paeit come on & dtsks
ffl ;■-/!:-.'-
:heatsTi II
itopriiTCitSOOstl EDS, D.T.I
SutMHppiliWgg
Jh/M E030BAC
; J | E059BAC
9 relate to ostromy, cart help 10 locate
"ir posilicn ect- muii lor snyone
■■tlromyor hobby great I4LXSK]
(E A LETTER i*sm to reads- hrst step
FD74 AMIGA BEGJNER GUIDE tuloruil on A.m>rp»
ECUS NODDY PL£VT:VE ctemrj .very good
EC*0 KID PV more ctcelkmi paumt programes
EDfit DTP FOR KID*. '
ECflS SING A RYHMES sing a long
E09d HIGHWAY CODE TUTOR question on high.sy cod
V :=□;■ THREE UTTLEPIGGvSrcry
tha( accurately calculates m« position of the sla.net
■r-7 re. JCdiac -?^> lai Pit. Recqsnmertd
E130 FRENCH VEflO TESTER ihc-uld help yau wrth trerven.
E131 CULT TV DATA RA$E 11(2 DISK) into on early TV
E132 WORLD HISTORY ROOK
E133 LITTLE TTiaVELLEH iNJlhiramjiiion on world wide
Firw X-FILES<iui4«ro!!ir IV iPnosvcTyintf-iiisiing
E.14A CHESS 4 TUTOf? ■ FULLieach you how to pby chess
E I M INTERNET FULL guide- lO intfrnol Jt iup*rhlariw<y
E16I CU A SHELL TUTOR Ihelpl Ideal lor BeOirmDr
E H.2 DELUXE PAJ'4T OnAPWC T1/[QR V 3 S •. RECOMMEND
E t6J JAPANESE ■ (each you the lapanese lancuao*
E1H PA1WT IT [not ASCOT 31 lafle*! ColOuRihG BOOK
E)f)i KEY SOARD TRAINER M ilTlllini tupinq tutor.
E1W WORD POWER- spMichecit. r c [ «5wgrrjssiiver.'Hi*er
EtM CROSSWORD CREATOn.ccsiqn cTiraiword
E-^.3 CHES5 i iTjrGn t; .'-1 Crm II ginss
Ei7rjHiSTC = . OF « W : , VGilEsectlentd^X
El 71 CHrLD FAVOUfllTE-EdLcaiion prog
El 72 ANIMAL LAND-Learn about inimal
Ll 75 FRANTIC QUIiib lL!i i Ml UTER 20) b-nS'anl 4 lunny
E177CYBEHPUNKSfor eyo^rPunk liealf only
F17aSTARTREr; 8, STARTFtEK NEXT GEREIJATION GUIOL
TrtE COMPUTE GUIDE '-: v ■■■ ''■ ".'.::-■"' r ■
SHOTS TAKEN FROM THE STAR TH£K SERES SUPERS
Etal SIG1HTURE CREATOR customme y&ur own alginture
E1B2 VIRUS WCRKSHDP V4 cc-rnpretiensiwe gside
■■ : ■.-.-:■ ■.. : . : ■ ■■ , ■
E1BS WORKBENCH M GUIDE On line tie=p.t:crT-plrlp
E210 UEAflN S. Oj.AY 3 Litest Eduicaljon 4 Game*
E2W FJARNEY THE BEAR GOES CAMPINO <2=J]
Br, 'an! reach yfiuf onLld about animal
E2-1 C0F,1M5 GUIDE v l.i oaginner modem user
E242 GUIDE TO WEATHER [3d) superb comqlcte
guide to the weather, rocommend
E24& MATH ATTACK- M.nlis leloio games tor kids
E242 ANIMAL-LANCk-idr.-ii lor young kid. Eicel
E2« PICTURE^ATHS-Mjilhi pfooram !or kids
E2*& BEGINER GUIDE TO wn 3 [AtJQO onk)
E347 GLOBE FACT[2) (ltd wbwl pL-m^t tonh
tz*a KiD ONLY. G eiCDierit game lo play witft
E jw SANTA -Help Santa collect present games
E;S1 HIPjSThOAY HISTORY Y12-
E2&2 eAR-TErOER-rec.pi tor 1000 dmk/co*ktBil
i.,-..; L^G NNEj r |--:-.C. TUTQfl-
E097BACKTOSKOOL voM collection cl the beSi
E050 UACKTOSKGSLvsiJ inrducation progrfjm''
. : :.:;kTQSKQ3LubI 3 4 game*. RECOfJMED
■MJWAMsiMttti Mdft.^^^
ILXiLwaia 4 games, RECOM
.^ :. ;: ; i si
, 1— i . EDUCATION &
J'J =VV ..?' C,AU£S_PAG&_ r J
\im\M\m\*\)\^m\M
I// GAME! !ti:;
V \ iMutjtit £ CTM)l,fliU»*i» tcl t-
-■ ^ manylri bJI. run tfl it AHtO*
5 disk ^4.99
46 C64 GAMES.. £3.99 , - .;.; , ;;:
100C64OAMES..E6.99 *£E M _£2
200 CB4 GRMES..E13.99 magic m .,«i.ii|
400 MEGA CB4 GAMES PACK. ..£19.99
TIM pidnwrt ... M*4MCOM*raOH[ CM oaft... «**U*r p»**vi*i*la
ataaMiwt»*^U1a'natP«**"ao*"* ,lh * r "*'. J wedt*nl t-^ut*
j^i.'jbu *hchyo* em ft********™***! run* la* .0.1 ck*.*. shc
Net, »- i«.«iofth.»"«J«*9d^*«lMi 1 «ar»«lia*WOCfSK5«
Brand new arcade rjar>es pack 3. IT*! pact T/
jndjdearewcotelwnofthebaiarcade t '
gain, justlk; pair ;HL. 5£r.e<&j X
5 disk set only £4.99 V
Ml^- GAMES 1
lam 23 I ».. ""jl'i
Uual I % ia*
n. v»i T .ala.i Boards
pa«Jl 3. Thai pack cunl.
All fi*av board, gomaa,
for all board garnaaJan
nMON M.LAKKM
aa* SdteJtt? U-E4.9
CAKUb w«,J lfc .U ;k;.;
ilM • UN
* MtleoM f*«*e* lu. n* Art-«j* ■"<'-*
rfV«|»*VaU't*'a.W"
1 - .farf-l*. ,!■•>■ S«l
5 disk
£4.99
,,., ?1 :., I r-KW
elude- b-U.c-u.iacV
t'-Ct diiiaaiinu
■ ■ Ttl-F |IHl:k Cl-
lP cnrdt oral""*
■(•Mr. hiup.ii'
5 disk set only £4.99
,~Xy<C 200 aSc
THISLISTING ARE ROF*
AGA0Q1 EXTENSION DEMO StafiAine berrw. fast ii'ndK.iH
■nun arm * totatiflB city regard Hit b*»J MiA <*M"o
AGAOOI FRACTAL GEHf-RATOR fractal n 256 co***
AGACQi WORKBENCH HACK me«iy fia^^/blanker etc
AGAWKNEWSyPET.Wt.LEFl knowtow A killever
TIG lyp* ol -Inu must for 3D A1IM owner
AGA 20" MthDWAHP very first (ienw for K* AlIOC
AGAOOa KLONDIKE DELUIE AGA (30J tha beat A12Q0 c3«i
garniwrlh giMwure lady u caret* lac* .S*cmiy
AGA011 SLEEPLESS NJGHT 3
AC ft 01 2 PUItET GROOVE Truly A12M Denw*-
AOAOil MOTOR 1HVADER 2 ilD\ BiiUarr. INVADER gar*
AGA01S POutT OF SCALE Grwl A1»0 only demoa
ADAOKCHRQUAS' F»lfi|(9«Jd«»tW-
AGAaiT WOa.LOOFMANC^,4l>l5K}rri*onif.CBrrl Japiw*.
comic »Ua* fttutw tnctude Jeparws Cfuefc «e recommend
AGA031 MBdC WORKBENCH Improve thw lo«* at vow WB
aadd *«m*funebon lo jwtWS realty HR1LLANT
AGACrt WB 3 UTILITIES load ol Wb 3 ftflly uiairiM
BAAOZa u-CKESSttw o«*i cr*4* progran g»me4 *s
far &Ul /Ktu>ft 4 nwgbvli*. Si-WatM ^fipfltc
kOAtS* wORRBErvCH 3 SCREEN Gfcal back aiftp
AOA41 ADULT SLIDE Vd 14 i? disk (**}*«*i beta"
AOA6S 90DY SHOP VOL M (Idii* t»tf.) '•*• »«Jo»*
AGA«0 FITCKICJa, vol i-l(2fl.ik »ach) in tntott
Id ortWi vit dut «bov» jutt Hale d>*k cod* i
*alumr no? (m own-it* f 2 dtik per volutr«l
DEGRADER
AGAOW AlStrf. ElX DISK COLLETCIC+I 1
AGA09I A1JD0 FIX DISK 2 COLLETCON 2
AGArj94 RELOCKIT Vl.-4a laics! iiji. A500 SOFTWARE
AGA3M A1?M Fffi DISK VOL 3 |mw |uly 95)
All duk Btjov* ara doiign In nisha any old ASM-ASM!
Amiga pruar.'im (..■g.imo's «lc 10 run on ybut AI?0(VA40DO
WIUST FOft ALL AGA AMISA OWNER. RECOMMEND
AQAUSr A1JQ0 UTIL - AGA TESTE*. St$lHFO#IC
AGADM ACTION REPLAY V4 Complol* ACTION REPU*
fiGAKTC. MftDFIGHTER 2 briiiirti sinn fighter clone
AGA 199 AGA BLITZ SCREEN BLANKER
AGA10V FAST OlFF 2 diiplaf GIFF pic In Workbai.^-
AGA1C2 AGA DIAGNOSTIC • MEW syittTn lesw
AGA1D3 BLACK BOARD AGA dac«nt Imaae )8!M«mm
AGA105 QUICK GRAB AGA -grah AGA screen PICTJftE
AGA11C WORLD BEYONDS 1 (3) slun.n^g556 COLOUR
tjnnsf ad. leave aiarl uiarbrealhlraa
ADA1 1 J SMELL LIKE CHANEL NOS tsfiiisnr dimo
ray imc« fMciuie aver releaia or tha A1Z0D
AGA!Z1 MAGIC FACTOHV 1 STAR TREK [5 dliK>
AGA1 31 AOA UTIL vl« {2) AGA ul-> ccmpltitiCHi
AGA1 .is AGA UTIL V3 14 [Ji more erf above
AGA137 MULT1EI00T- . .*ttou» vtriion AIC-0 EMU
AGA13S OFFICIAL WORKBENCH 3 HARDORIVE INSTALLER
AGA1J9 WB3 HAHDDI3K PREF JS INSTALLER InaUIUng
AGA140 CR0S3 DOS PLUS v5.1 readAMile PC i.'ss
AGA143 SUPER LEAGUE 3 -Intel maniBer gimu
AGA144 SPEAK & SPELL - education*! tcflwir* for ktd
AGAI45 3 Q TOPS (18 * ofHylHWMmm
AGA146 KELOG LAND -bnHant pJaHbrm gimee
AGA1S0 ACTION REPLAY V5 - MEW UP DATE TO V4
AQAIM GIGEH TRI2 y*ry playable ZK colour tttrli.
AGA162 FATAL-BLOW new 5T8EET-F GHTEH 2 dona
AGAi-f-i CHiEV CRAWFORDVolf (3 -Bi.it.! taleal raleate
Af.Aii.', INFESTATION |3 dnk)i TM uliHuiwd AGA demo
AGAtrQ ONDY CRAWFORD Vol II (2dlik| -.mat.rtfl
AGA172 vlOEO TRACKER AGA-uhlmabt darno nuktr
ACA1TJ UAGIC WB EXTRA «sl 1 i 2 [Ic.ikl
AGAiU GIF BEAUTIES Vol <1M B) B wCt glrii ai*k
AGA1B3 FRIDAY AT B anoiner arillam AGA dernoi
AGA190 AS5ASIN W JLTlVlSION AGA pic viewing util
AGA1S2 ALIEN FRENZE 2 player clayiig rpovrar Lsp
AGS1W SIGTIVE SENSUAL |!tli*k) SPACE BALL 3
AGA20D UASOUEPjAOE 2cTla« bnliani puulr gamaa.
AGA202 RAM JAU M h cal b* done (2dbiN)
AGAJTjJ EXPLIRIT 2 DEMO •** altitc (vaLLdane.
AG ASM COMPLEX ORIGIN 2diak raqu** 2 diakari^*
ADA2W TREASURE OF TUTANKHAMUN- adi>ctalor> looi
AQA230 LOVE 2 o..N-nm.Bl < [jntLini DEMOS
AHA231 AGA UTIL J A 6 (2 ditk) .V-sr* USEFUL u!il
f SEE PAGE 1 FOR MO
A 4 bOO ONLY
USE WITH AGA AMIGA
AGA234 KNOTTY-Slu«n.fk9 AGA aActfst} ptclie patZlJM
*OAiifl LOTTERY YilliHER hopr fuciy aria Improve
your cti*n£<? of •*irw>iY>g * jac* pct_GOOP-LUCK
AGA2IT-1S*AGA OAME-GALORE AGA 01-11 tet 0» jaip*»
AGA2SI PACKUAN AGA -Sn? rwffl pacman jasi
AGA2S2 ROCKET PO - Super thnst do«*
brininl oraprttr (w1w! play*?
AGBK^ REAL DEUO siunning sjxH^a. #ff«c
AGA2S4 DIRT AGA SM .si: «SS colour t =J ? '-;
AGA^^DEUGHT EXPLORE *itfl»rUdemo
AQAf^- KEFEREN AGA Damo M o* ttWe
AGA75T UlNOaflST RAVE gn;*! fava cuiuc.
AGAZ58 CwYGENE Fanualtc drno
AGA2S3 INTE1-OUT «n«h*r wr, opod dems
AGA260 SOMUUSnOa l>mo cf Use nwnlti
ftjjlaci wh»rf etfetc. RECOUME+.D
AGA2H TO THE DEATH ™ty pi»d STREET-
FIGHTER clone «riih viwy pood trtaphjc
AGA2K3 GEGRGE GALASO J5riis*4 bnlUni
nwfaleMl aihooUpladorTn aame-, riECOUUEIH.
AGA265 MSSTLE OVER ZEHOH P»»S*} BflTArtf
3D jrr:*siie conTroandor vri.h lafltasife fljaptac
A6A?$6 TEAM-HOI DtflO PLATRJHM p-'Cillent clno
pJatform Moie:tWa dtat was a ccmmarciol gamta
AGA274 MUSIC 2 SURVIVE W»a & aiccUtmt
mu+lfi maatac pJeee. well worth criiinj
AGA271 HAVE MAJCtrJUM OVERDRIVE 11 (Jflii*)
AGA27B CHANNEL Z ISSUE 1 |AGA] (Jcusk)
AG4 baea rtis,lc msgaiaPiM. FtECOMMENO
AQA tin* rriagMine lcokderrto*rajJK
AGA2E5 WORKBENCH BACKDROP VOL 3
AGA3K DE-LUXE MONOPOLY- Fiaard game.V addicted
A0.AZ96 OOfiKEV KOriG Arcade classic ecrtvareion
AGAMT BOMB PAC Etirtamiy good la pT*«
AGA2S3 ROCKET 2 eel d«p undMjcotmd brinwil
grupfiic. *van betier witu 2 piaytr
AGA299 SCRABRLE-Moivfully run on *n Aniga
AGA3C0 MAGIC WB v!_ Dafno of varilon 2
AGA3C2 TUTANKHAM 1l|2) EduMtion-E gyp! lift MUMMY
AGA3J13 PAMLA ANDERSON^) 18* oni^ Bay Watch Babe
AGA304 BODYSROP V6 [3| mora bikini brauHaa
AGA3US TIMEZONE (2) VGood graptitc aduailuiea.
AGAaOT DEMTAWOLF doorra d«m&
AGA3CA NAXlS -Really show wh^l AGA graphic co do
AGA 310 FEARS (2dJ- dopmedena demo
AGA31t JINX (2d) FanlasUc arcade pua^
AGA31 3 HAM JAM THE TA5TE DEHO-wary wicket dtrao.
AGA3t5 ILEX MYSTIC Ne» AGA d*mos
ACA3Z9 KLONDIKE 3 (4disk) Hd requhre h Sm«g
»w# ailo have e List ol 25 cards Tor above.
AGA32 . HOT-BASE I [?) MUST BE OVER
AGA322 KOT-UAEE 2 (2) 1ft
AGA3J3 HOT-BABE 3 {2) BEPDHE
AGA324 H0T*ABE -l (2) ORDER ANY
AGA325 HOT-BABfi 5 (SI OF THE HOT-BABE PACK
Hundred c4 quality Magic wt> icon A Sack drop
AGA J.ii DESK-TOP MAGIC- 32 animaTed «feai Wanker
AGA3S9 WAR OF THE WOrlLDS -lull 3D narcea
AGA3M FEAR 2. Brillanl 3D ^faphi'c oarr-e-9 like
AGA39I PSSST Amiga veraioTi of SpecUyrft games
AGA392 CHILD MURDERf-!JHDror graphic adverdurf
AGA390 FEAR II -BnlEar.1 3D oftn*? play Just like
DOOM ofl Eha PC Garrenlted you impress-
AGA393 PC EMULATOR V3- Lsies. PC emulate
AGA400 HYPER RACE (2) SuW racing oamat
AGA410 CiNOY CUWFORO (3) new
AGA411 ELLE UACPhERSON [3]
AGA412 CLAUDIA SCHlFFER [3)
AGA4UBlGGIRLSu(3)
AGAd11 GIRLS GlflLS \2]
AOAAISWKYTAVLORW
AGA41T KYEJ= MtNOUCE [3)
AGA413 FEMALE BODY HUtLDER |3|
AGAin EXCELLEMT CARD GaUES 3 laiesl
AGA420 POKER & BLACK JACK DELUXE [3>UJEG
AflA»2i COLOUR WB nuke your WB mora colourful
ACA3Z2 FdDGE RACER O*mo on lh* Amiga.
AGA423 DRUG STORE DEMUS |2di*V |
AGA424 DREAM WALKER (2} Oemoe
AGA425 MYSTIC OEJuOS.;3>*>5 e*c«lient d«mo>
AGAili ORIGIN 2 [2 DXSK). ■-■' n -q
RE SOFTWARE FOR YOUR AMIG
All now 650 meg of the
latest software on -1 CD
LIMITED EDITION "iSSSST
Re-loase date TO March 97
Save £5 by ordering before 5 March 97
Price £24.99
Pre-release price £19.99
note: cheque/Po will not be cashed until CD d&sparched
U t . 1 I
INCLUDE
2 x CDs pack
Nearly 2000 disk from
1 000 spectrum games
many more ect
.mm. to cd
i f r &(s* sofl wc in
Lir inacwpu UWKia oiaMi-waiuai.t* WJIhl. *A»a cu
IMAGE SCANING,
GRAPHIC CONVERT e
FILE TRANSFER^y'
AMIGA <> PC s0 <
Ch»pp n«n «q: acanfl^y altc Imflffe l-^i^ O'^i CI. GO
All F>
I dish pack
i To ordernny pnek bolowjustwrile tha pack namo
' & If more Shan on« pock available plen*e slats eg:
1 1 CGfont packS to order CG font pack no:3 ect
*C:lI»p»-a#VBr*
> ■>,:■■
%A
LOTTERY WIIUIUER
EXCELLENT COLLECTION OF
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pack only £4.99
18 DEMOS
MUST BE 1BAN0 OVER
X30 CINDV CRAWFORD (2)
X74 MADONNA (SEX) (3)
X01 i.Mowi ii t-.ifii.
XD3 OODV TALK. (2)
X09 r.i/vl .II WHITTAKEfl
X2-* SABRINA SPECIAL
X25 DIE PLLKINGER
X2G IvlADOlMlNIA EARLY OAYS
X2B KAXMV LLOYD
X30 Ml ' ,A-",iAin
X31 CALENDAR CIFtL.
X32 MAYFAIF,
X33 UTOPIA <*I DISKS)
K4S GIRLS OF SPORT
Xdfa PAGE 3 GIRLS
x/i) GON r,ON GIRL
X71 TINA SMALL
X91 CINDV CALENDAR '95
X96 HOT BABE 1
XB7 MOT BABE 2
XSO MOT BABE 3
XOQ MOT BABE A
X100 HOT BABE 5
XIOI BIG GIRL II
X1D2 FEMALE BODY BUILDER
X103 GIRLS GIRLS
:-J05 ELLE MACPHERSON
lOG CLAUDIA SCHIFFER
\\ Mono clip art pack "1 ,2,3 ( 4.or S
colour clip-art pack 1,2 ( 3,4or S
| (please state pack require 1-S)
Fonts pack
j WorkBench font pack 1,. (5 disk full of fonts)
WorkBench font pack 2,.(5 disk fgll of fonts)
■| Large Colour & logo type font pack 1 (5 disk)
i Large Colour & logo type font pack 2 (5 disk)
CG-FONTS
I Thwo high quraaiiy fonts pock testable £ are compalaWfl «Hh all wraion
DtDTP.wffittewarlh. Pagc^lream, YVai.ProPjgeS.F.naw.fJtiw. tet
I Computer Graphic FONTS pack 1.2,3, ort*
(5 clink p*f pnek pr*nsa atnla packs raqira)
•■■": •-. '- '•■£:':: '■'. :■": •'■ - :
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i : I ? f A*.U ol Horn. contKta, In Ian
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IT kXASlER: .UfliMi pi
| Imagines object pack 1 a 2 t3dis*pp- pock)
maglnea true 3d font pock 1 '.b disk)
I Caligerl object or [AM 3D fonts [dCrt*) (5 dKkeacn]
j Jght Wave object pock 1 Of 2 (& duk pp* pact)
. Jght Wave true 3D font* [6 eW»)
' "^e»l 3D Cf Kue 30 font* Obec- (itcilej 5 disk pef pock
I All pack in theso box come on 5 disks & east £4.99.
Per pack, Air pack avre compatabla with all •miga
M r
mi- Witt. IQ0 a i>i ii.v-.i
Animfal nwiiuunan, lap HWH aav.irKM.nl Di.ya.nip
1W wHh |ltttlata la> tailt up |h- nhiin*., okilufwtnl«»r.^'i»ijiliiin*
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■ ■-■■■- : -
r nUQ '.*"<. u^"» "iiwiaen art ■ '-"iKili>Ow "
ik Kiit nniy £ BE7*»e»
NEW TITLES
LITTLE OFFICE 2 1 hard drive I
Nrw Release includes l& Q|$K DRIVE!
iLL- Buarncsi Letter)
Word Processor
Caiervdar
'inna i Aoaross Da:attaE* L_
All this tor only £1.99 Must. t^uvi.sOHLYMp!
HAR
Space Doubler
7^ f ta^ect
Build dsim or projatct Includad i
put- your Amiga In towarcnaa. "■••■ l~C jwrt m Dliak
rJrivei, set H racommand. not nultablar <»r baaajlhBa>r
3 disk s ot only ES.OO
0934 UlTSttATE TOUR TENNIS - {2 diaki) Eieaflant lannla gam*
G933 DAflU ANGEL - (HOT WB1J) Superb arcaxte advOniur*
QHO RAISE THE TTfANlC - Good M Ao.enture rjama
SMt PHANTOM - Eieellant arwoiiriQ ganaa jD+len«r M>
OSH MACOONA'UaND - aaSaanl ejarr* ajmiUi toitool (.not A12M)
C543 JOUST in - Br:ii Jit CH (jama wrtri updated Amiga graptiica
GM4 OELUZE CALAGA V2-6 - The n«y ia:esi Galaga. NrgMy r«»yr<iv*fid*a
GS*5 LAZER ftACE - Good Tron type. e«rf*m*l)r acdictlve ro play
GSM TBAiH-ORtVi-R SIMULATION - Trie mosl realraiic train *im.
G9S7 HASTEH BLASTER - Kill variaoa nwialera *rth tombs
GSS8 KNOCK-OUT Mini Serb* rJrttJuet.oi\ v*Pf addictivt
GMSOUNGEONHER0 - iDOraprue adrentyrt aJnOaru Ooom
GMfl MORTAL KLfMQUAT 3 - Wetrd but fun ba*1*m-Mp
GK1 CODE NAME r.ANO - Superb Thruit Ctor* (Nano Hy2|
GWJ POKER MANIA - «r ywi Hi poaar than thta la Iw you
G«5 LEATHAL FORMULA - Adventm «.m4M u lianlurf laLind
E2i3 BEGiNHER TVPtNO TUTOR
EIM .VORfJ PUZZLE PRO-Crea:aCroii'rVc»-d pwi-e to scJ^fjULiff
£256 KID DI51 1 - Anoirtar very line education prograrri
£257 A-Z COUNTRIES OF THE WORUJ
ES53 LfK COUNTIES Simriar to above bu! |Wi Li- baaad entirerf on ENGLAND,
YYALE$. SCOTLAND AND H0RTMERN IRELAND
E259 BASIC ELECTROHiCS Vi -5 [i Drill} - fw eJectronti: fans
EMI MASS-VE GUIDE TO THE INTERNET U2.J
AGAeM PCnVEROflCUD • 96 rte* Aataroidawtth bn-iai>nt graphics
AGAA3C ULTIMATUM ■ Tha ultimate JD Tank Battle
UlO'lCr Yt*B2 INSTALLER ■ Imtan AMU'ASOO »vortbe«:h id HO
LH011 TURBO-CAT PRO VI 2 (rwl WBIJI - C"»te cataloaue*
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UID1J DIARY 2000 * Ut* thlt |u*l like a raat diary
U10H TOT*L ECUP5 -Ot»y rrugMlna 1
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gi rjiTPHO LOTTERY K- The very lates: A bast lottery prcgram
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U10M MSK II Emdalor V2.\ ■ (WRsd) USX comp*-tw on
U1031 900 AMIGA GAMES HINTS £ CHEATS V4 [2 &sksj
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flTTff
't quite seem to
... hang of this thit
Dogfight
As far as I'm concerned this is (he best of
Guildhall's budget releases and as flight sims
go, is notable for being interesting. The
trouble I have always found with flight sims
is that they have the tendency to be more
boring than Tbora Hird. I mean who decided
to make an Airbus sim where (whoopee) you
could land at the lop 20 international
airports of the world.
In dll honesty, until they bring out a
'terrorists on board' data disk, the flight sim
has to be about as interesting as an M25
traffic jam simulator. However if a sim is
done well it can be nee, like the dog fighting
scenes in Top Gun when iis all blaring
The plane with loads of smoke coming
out of it is mine
Dogfight is a cool game. Like the very
successful Chuck Yeager's Air Combat of the
same year, this offers pure action. The
graphics are massively realistic, even down
to the pilots head inside the cockpit and the
markings on the wings.
You can fighl one on one which is fun or
attempt the more challenging missions.
There are five different conflicls to choose
from: World War One, World War Two,
Korea, Vietnam, Falklands and Syria not to
mention loads of different objectives to
achieve, from shooting down Zeppelins in
1918 to hunting Syrian Migs in the Bekka
valley.
The planes are easy to control and
on-stop.
Do you smoke
they've got Arabs on them'
criticism I do have is thai the sound effects
are a bit trashy but, when the rest of the game
is so well, turned out this is a minor niggle.
THE LOW-DOWN
PUBLISHER Guildall Leisure
DEVELOPER Microprose
HD INSTALLABLE Yes
PRICE £14.99
SUPPORTS Any 1Mb Amiga
GRAPHICS
I've always b
F117A
Following on from the success of F19,
Microprose released F1 1 7A in 1 993. 1
remember buying the game and what with PCs
being so bobbins back then, it was like playing
using a flick book. Of course Amiga users never
had that problem and the game proved a
winner.
The graphics were excellent at the time and
though lacking the gouraud shading and
withering of present day games, they still look
good three years on. In the cockpit you are
offered a mind boggling array of display screens
and flashy lights and you can look back
forwards and to the sides within the cockpit.
Unfortunately you don't get involved in
many dogfights in this game, the enemy planes
have all the aggressiveness and fighting ability
of a happy slug. However, this doesn't matter
because it's challenging enough flying to your
objectives at under 500 foot while avoiding
fc£l AMIGA ACTION
enemy SAMs.
The missions are againsl Ihe same poor
countries that gel ii in the neck in every other
sim such as Vietnam, Korea, Russia, East
Germany, Cuba and Libya.
The game is pretty involving with a large
variety of missions and objectives lo complete.
Matters are made more complex by the fact
the loevel of the various conflicts vary mean
that, in a cold war for instance, once you an
detected, the mission is a write-off
One criticism I might have of the game
that there are too many parts of the game Ih
take too long. Flying to the mission objectiv
can take ages, and on automatic pilot it is
perfectly possible to walk slowly to Ihe kitchen,
make a caffetier of coffee.
Despite this F1 1 7A was, and still is a quality
product. There are enough options and features
to the game to keep you occupied for qute a
while.
THE LOW-DOWN
PUBLISHER Guildhall Leisure
DEVELOPER Microprose
HD INSTALLABLE Yes
PRICE £14.99
SUPPORTS Any 1Mb Amiga
GRAPHICS
75% t
SOUND
75%
PLAYABILITY
88%
DIFFICULTY
TRICKY
OVERALL
SCORE
'^^■■^^^ ^^^^^^H / V
THE LOW-DOWN
PUBLISHER Guildhall Leisure
DEVELOPER Acid Software
HD INSTALLABLE Yes
PRICE £14.99
SUPPORTS Any 1Mb Amiga
GRAPHICS 69%
SOUND
73%
PLAYABILITY
80%
DIFFICULTY
TRICKY
e the universe
power as far as possible throughout the
O V ERALL SCORE
galaxy.
Basse
of Star W
/Dune mix o
ine is a sort
;r politics.
ilomacv set thousands of years
We take a look at
the next batch of
Guildhall/Microprose
releases.
in the future. The aim of the game is to
assert your power and authority by fair
means or foul until you are the most
quarters of the game is played as a
conventional strategy game, with th
remaining quarter being a space combat
'it where you direct your forces and fly
iur own ship in combat.
The depth of the game, and the sheer
umber of choices involved make the game
n interesting and challenging exercise in
Eegy. Directing the space battles can
be good fun.
However there is one criticism ! would
make of this game - the space battle scenes
are grapnicdity veiy puui «m<j u.»— ™. ,
just do not stand up to their PC equivalent.
If you can live with this flaw however,
Starlord is a pretty decent, fun and
entertaining game.
arior
Ever fancied ruling the entire galaxy by
playing off interplanetary nobles against
one another in a never ending flurry of
internecine squabbling and pitched bait
On the off-chance that you might,
Guildhall are re-releasing Starlord, a sp;
adventure shoot 'em-up strategy game.
Your mission is to spread your influence
B17 Flying Fortress
Another flight sim, but this one's a bit
different. Unlike any other sim I can think of
off hand, B1 7 offers you the opportunity to
control not just the plane, but the other 1
crew positions, such as gunners and
bombardiers.
Although much more playable than other
'authentic' demos. Flying Fortress is still
undeniably a very realistic and detailed
game. All the switches and levers are in the
right place in the cockpit and the flight model
The secret basti
Huffs dynastic I
::_■
is extremely realistic taking into accounts
factors such as damage, wind speeds and
bomb load. One particularly novel little
touch is the ability to customise the nose art
on your plane, although unfortunately you
cant paint the whole plane. I wanted mine i-
bright yellow with zebra skin trim but, no
joy.
Although B1 7 is possibly too much a sim
for many, the game will still appeal to a good
deal of people who want a challenging flight
simulation with a difference.
THE LOW-DOWN
PUBLISHER Guildhall Leisure
DEVELOPER Microprose
HD INSTALLABLE Yes
PRICE £14.99
SUPPORTS Any 1 Mb Amiga
s'L
GRAPHICS
80%
SOUND 80%
PLAYABILITY
82 %1
DIFFICULTY
TRICKY
What processes do you have to undertake
to develop a game? Do you start off with a
definite idea of what you want to create,
or does it just grow and develop as the
project progresses? If possible could you
explain to us the step by step process
involved in developing a game?
What t am aiming for. In order to change
the bare idea into code I normally follow the
steps below. This is not exactly the way I have
gone about designing Explorer 2260 because
of the type of game it is. Some other pro-
grammers almost certainly will not agree with
the way I work, but the development process
is a personal thing, built up from experience -
what suits me may not suit anyone else! This
is not a quick-start guide to programming;
writing good programs requires years of expe-
rience and practice, as well as an in-depth
knowledge of the Amiga and the language
you are using.
I. OK, you have a rough idea of what you're
after. Firstly you must sit down and work out
an outline, on paper, of what you want, filling
in details as you go along. Expect this
list to change! Explorer 2260 has
changed beyond recognition
from the early designs.
II. Looking at this huge list
of things you want to do,
the first thing that will
come into you head is
"How the hell do I do
this and where do I
start?" I have found that
there isn't any easy way to
decide where to start. I
tend to code the most com
plex parts first as they are usu
ally the pieces which other areas of
the game rely on.
III. To decide what to do, firstly take the list
and develop what I call a data flow/ depen-
dency diagram. Look through your list for the
sections which will be most used and most
important. Put these down on paper and con-
nect them up with arrows showing the flow
of data and interactions between them. Now
add in the smaller, less important, sections
and link them in. This way you can get some
idea of which parts of the code will be
depended upon by the rest of the program.
These are the pieces you should code first. Be
warned though, the process of drawing these
diagrams and deciding upon which pieces are
important take a lot of practice, choosing the
wrong sections can make the program very
difficult to write.
IV. Now you start designing and writing sec-
tions of code, Don't try and get them to work
together yet and don't try for optimal solu-
tions. As you get your teeth into the program
Ever fancied writing your own
games? Hugh Poynton talks to young
hopeful Chris Page in part two of his
exploration of the pleasures and
pitfalls of developing a game
you will start to find easier ways to do
things and better ways to go about certain
tasks. You may also find pieces you have
forgotten or didn't realise you needed, earli-
er in the design process. If you do find any,
stop and re-evaluate your designs - you
may have made a mistake in the design or
you may have found a way around many of
your problems. Do not be too concerned
with graphics and sound at this stage, it
does cut down design time if you get them
sorted out here, but it may cause problems
if you have to redesign parts of the pro-
gram in the next stage.
V. Start bringing the pieces of
code together and begin
simple optimisations (a
discussion of optimisa-
tion techniques is
beyond the scope of
this answer). Redesign
and remake any pieces
of code which cause
problems - interfering
with data structures etc.
VI. You need to ensure
everything works together
correctly, then you can begin
polishing and debugging. This
takes a long time because it is often
necessary to remake sections of code or, in
extreme cases, start all over again!
VII. Get someone else to test it! Never trust
a test you do yourself. I have been satisfied
my code is bug free only to find my broth-
ers can pick holes in it! A good programmer
is not necessarily a good debugger, espe-
cially when it comes to his own code.
Expect to go back to stage V or even IV
many times.
VIII. Once confident your program is work-
ing you can remove bits and pieces, add
time limits etc., for public release demos.
Take notice of any feedback you get (I've
already had a lot and I haven't even
released anything). If people express dissat-
isfaction with parts then change them, if
people want you to add things, try to.
IX. Now the nasty part begins. You have a
choice: Release the game as PD/
Licenseware or start hounding software
houses to try and get your game released com-
mercially.
NOTE: Expect your designs to change at any
time during the development process and do
not expect to get a well polished game
designed, written and released in a few weeks
or even a few months.
How long has the game been in develop-
ment? When do you think it might be fin-
ished and do you see the copyright issue
being a major problem?
Explorer 2260 has been in develop-
ment, on and off and in many forms, for '
nearly six months. It is just coming out of
the design phase into unoptimised code
(stage IV) and I really can't say when it
will be released. I am a student and
university work takes precedence,
but I am putting every spare
minute into the game. I think 1
may have worked around
many of the areas which
could have caused copy-
right problems but
would still like to contact
someone in Warner Bros
to make sure.
How do you plan to publicise the game
when finished? Via the Aminet? By post-
ing downloadable demo's on the
Internet?
I intend placing demos on Aminet
and on any other sites which may
help (I already have had some
offers). 1 may also contact a soft-
ware house - I have already
thought of two which may be
willing to help, with a view
to commercial release,
although this is remote,
maybe. >■
/••
m
Chris Page has recently been approached by
a major Amiga software company and is in
negotiations to have Explorer 2260 published
and distributed. Good luck Chris.
AMIGA ACTION FEATURE
A
FEATURE AMIGA ACTION 175
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Cheques should be made payable to "Amiga Computing"
Please include my advertisement in the next available issue of Amiga Computing. I confirm that the advert is not selling illegal copies of software or
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Please write clearly - we can't be held responsible for errors in your advertisement especially if your writing resembles a spider crawlinq across the
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Remember to
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You've
played
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now get
the ful/
thing
'Tiny Troops has oodles of payability and originality." - Amiga Computing
iww^y
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Please semi a copy of Tiny Troops for ibe Amiga to:
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Amiga Computing
MARCH 1997
ACTION PREVIEW
PUZZLER
Hugh Poynton teases zee
liddle grey cells with the
new puzzler from Applause
If all these screen shots look as if they're
from the same three levels, there's a good
reason - 1 wasn't very good at the game
You can't beat a good puzzle game -
the graphics don't have to be thai
good and the sound effects are of
little importance. If however it
blows away cobwebs from an under used
brain, it can be a brilliant way to pass half an
hour. The best puzzlers are the simplest -
Tetris had you slotting coloured blocks
together and Pong required you to bounce a
ball around the screen, destroying blocks.
Applause's latest project is a fine puzzler in a
similar vein.
Blockhead, Applause's most recent
addition to the Amiga games market, is a
departure from the last few releases. After
adventure strategy games such as DNA and
Cygnus, Applause has opted for a pure
puzzler and in doing so produced its best,
and most professional, game to date.
The aim of the game is simple. You
control a cute looking little character called
Bertie who, in the small amount of time
allowed, must venture around a room
slotting blocks into holes. In true 'buy il or
the puppy gets il fashion' Bertie's matt*
petrified Pete faces destruction if the level
isn't completed.
As a sort of time limit for each level, a
sack is slowly dropped onto Petrified Pete.
As the sack drops, it changes from gold to
Many bananas
Simple though it may look, this
screen is actually pretty tricky
silver, to bronze. If the level is completed
when the sack is golden, maximum points
will be scored. Once every hole is filled,
your liltle character may exit and Pete
escapes destruction.
Although this may sound
easy, the reality is that
unless you are very
gifted and have a
natural affinity for
lateral thinking
and strategic
planning, you
will find even
the early stages
of the game
pretty difficult.
The real
strength of the
game is that it
requires a certain
degree of mental
agility. If, for example,
you have four blocks to
drop into holes, the layout of
the room will more or less dictate
how, and in what order, the blocks
need to be moved. You will have
to think ahead and work out in
Use your dynamite to
blow up walls on this
level
And this one is
even harder
whether the action you take will help or
hinder future moves.
The game includes a couple of novel and
very welcome features. The tutorial section
for example is a feature I wish
more games incorporated.
The step by step tutorial
section for Blockhead
k enables you to get
acquainted with
the controls,
features and
* powerups
, included in the
I game.
This looks
like being a
very promising
release. The
concept of the
game is simple
yet engaging,
the gameplay
challenging and
well presented. With
Blockhead, Applause has
come up with a challenger to the
Binary Emotions slick and
polished puzzlers.
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JUST CHECK OUT OUR PUKES!
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AMIGA
COMPUTING
1st Computer Centre 8, 9
Active Software.... .....55, 89
Analogic 38
Dart Computers 85
Epic Marketing 26, 27
Gasteiner 41
Golden Image 13
HIQ 85
Hi Soft IBC, OBC
ICPUG 78
Kew = II 78
Liage International 33
Moore Healy Marketing 78
A
9
NetCom 20
Owl Associates.... 85
Pathfinder PD 78
Paxtron Corporation 15, 89
S&S Computers 78
Siren Software IFC, 3
Software 2000 70, 71
Underground PD 55
Vision Soft 7
Weird Science 35
White Knight 19
Wizard Developments 28
£■■
f f.
ami
^
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^go gt/i&GUIDE
£-//
■
lv;-»*Mr
C7/T7/
# »*J Wow, Noil Molit
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a 1 « MM am
1 It's time to get a little techie with Neil Mohr
07
L^g SmU^- tT- 1 !^- ' . ,iri
"■
to
rnTT^T
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WT.
create dots with Amos
f.V
ftflfF
Turning dreams into reality Larry Hickmott
explains how to get your message accross
iJlyJJSrilgcj gui<\
I ffl
I I I J I
r
Dave Cusick explains how you could
have Netscape running our your Amiga
J
Mi
J;
Master of Midi. Paul Overaa tells you ho
to remove nasty sequencer problems
f-15
ami
amjga en iic£
Paul Overaa is the ARexx kid. mis month
get ARexx to handle those tedious backups
Paul Overaa assembler assassin
gets date stamps working for you
This month try
doing a drop
shadow or two -
Neil Mohr shows
you how
If you have been following what is
admittedly, a fairly basic tutorial, you
should al least now be familiar with
^^^H all Phologenics' most regularly used
parts: Drawing tools, alpha channel and com-
posite function. This month we ore going to pull
all these elements together and actually do
something useful - add a drop shadow.
This is a fairly simple technique, but drop
shadows are used absolutely everywhere. In
magazines - there are more than likely a few in
this very magazine. On Web sites - drop shad-
ows are almost compulsory, the Amiga
Computing site is no exception and they also
turn up on television. The reason being they
help emphasise an element by making it literally
jump off the page or screen, adding o sense of
depth.
For this example we will be using the space-
man tutorial image, which luckily already has
an alpha clip outline ready for us to use, which
is handy. This alpha image will act as the basis
for the shadow and will also allow us to pre-
pare the spaceman image as well as tidying up
the final product.
After you have loaded the spaceman image
and its alpha clip, the first thing to do is touch
up the alpha image so it is ready for use. The
main changes are whiting out the rest of the
planet and adding the detail for the spaceman's
fool. The best way is to use the rectangle tool to
white out most of the earth, then switch to either
Cliff and
his drop
shadows
the polygon or freehand tool and clean up the
left over bits.
For the fine deloil on the foot, paint on the
original image covering the spaceman's feet and
then select the alpha as the actual alpha chan-
nel, you can slowly add or remove the black
area until you have a good match to the origi-
nal. To tidy up the final shadow use the blur
draw tool to anti-alias the new foot section you
have added.
Once all that is out of the way you can get on
with erecting the parts of the final image. The
first step is to get the spaceman separated from
the rest of the picture. As we have the alpho
channel ready to go, just fill the spaceman
image with block and fix these changes, leaving
a spaceman suspended in blackness.
Before making the shadow for the spaceman,
create a clone of the existing alpha channel
which will be used later. To create a proper
shadow effect perform a gaussian blur on the
entire alpha image - it's best to use the gaussian
blur option from the image menu. Set it to about
six and sit back and twiddle your thumbs or bet-
ter still go make a cup of lea - for some reason
Phologenics' gaussian blur is about os fast as a
snail on Mogadon.
Now we have our shadow image and main
spaceman image ready to be composed
together. Select the spaceman picture as the sec-
ondary image and make the shadow image that
is currently the alpha, ihe primary image.
Remember you can use the one, Iwo and three
keys as shortcuts. Select ihe shadow image and
press the right Amiga and k keys to start the
composition.
Make sure the transparent black lick box is set
and you should see your spaceman appear over
your shadow. To increase the effect you need to
offset the spaceman image slightly. Entering
minus five into both the x and y offset text boxes
should position the spaceman correctly.
Before you press the OK button lake a care-
ful look al the top left parts of the spaceman, a
bit jaggy is il not? We are not going to stand
for any botch jobs, no sir're definitely not. Click
on cancel and we shall turn aur attention to ihe
copy of the original alpho channel we made.
Select il as the alpho channel, go bock to the
shadow image and go to Ihe composite
requester making sure both Ihe transparent
black and compose alpha tick boxes are
selected.
All that should be visible now is an odd out-
line of the spaceman over the shadow jlhis is
because the alpha is negative of whal we
need). From the alpha menu use the invert
alpha option to invert the alpha channel and
Bob's your uncle - a much cleaner looking ver-
sion of what we had before. As the compose
olpha option is ticked it is moved and scaled
right along with the secondary image, so allow-
ing o gentle blending into the background
colour to be applied.
PlFF, PAFF, PUFF INSTANT SHADOW
f | Sffttngi
Pi
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PffUJf* ■
Tr«n fl
^^
First step is to get hold of all the images you need to
put the drop shadow together. Next, touch up the
alpha image by cutting out the rest of the earth
Once you hnve what will be shadow image, make a copy
of ft, as the sport? alpha. You can then cut out the spaceman
image and run a gaussian blur over the shadow/
Amiga Computing
MARCH 1997
You're cheating you are
As you may hove noticed, I used the spaceman's alpha clip image as the basis far the drop shadow. You may well be thinking that normally this is not the case and you would
have to create the outline for your drop shadow yourself - you're right. Thankfully, using Photogenics handy array of tools, this is not quite as hard a job as it may first appear.
As you may have noticed, we ore laying the original image on top of the shadow we have created - actually this is very similar to how it is done in Photoshop. Depending
on whal original image you are using you can go about creating the drop shadow in a number of ways.
The most straight forward is if you are adding shadow to text. You may get a little confused by the woy Photogenics handles text as it seems little construed, but using the text
loader (found in the loaders window) using the prefs button you can alter the type of font and size you wish to use, then select load and type the text you wish to appear.
Unfortunately Photogenics does not seem to give you any control over the colour the text appears in, but worry not, we will manage just fine. Once you have the text loaded,
clone the image end make one of the clones negative - this one will obviously be your shadow. Select the other as the secondary image and composite the images and voila,
instant text with shadow. If you want to colour the original text, use the lint paint mode to alter the original while lext while you are still composing the two images.
If however, you are working with just part of a photograph, a little mare work is required. Take the zebra tutorial image as the basis for creating a shadow for an image.
Select the free hand cut tool, by selecting the cut option twice, and cut around the pod of the zebra's head you want to cast a shadow far. You may also want to expand the
window size to get a more accurate cut.
Once you have marked out the zebra's head, it will appear in a separate window with just the head you want lo add a drop shadow to. You can now discard the original
image. Create a clone of the zebra head and use the add space image menu to add 10 pixels around each side of the head. Using the fill tool add while to ail this and fix
these changes.
Fill this white area with black and (here is the clever bit) select invert paint layer from the paint layer menu and you will have an instant zebra's head shadow. To create the
drop shadow all you need do is blur the shadow, select the original zebra image as the secondary one and composite away.
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Making use of Photogenics free hand cut tool and then the
inverse paint layer, you can have both the main image,
shadow and alpha clip in four simple stages
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Once you know how, adding shadows to text in
Photogenics is dead simple
Make the spaceman image Jhe secondary one and using
the composite function, lay the spaceman over the
shadow - set the xjy off-sets to around minus five
With the- first attempt tnc spaceman had a jagged edge la it,
using the alpha compose mode allows you to blend the edges
into the background making the final image look much better
Amiga Computing
MARCH 1997
Neil Mohr explains
how to use
wildcards with
the Amiga's Shell
fa Real wild
child
Continuing my little delve into the
Amiga Shell, I think it's about time
we had a talk about wildcards. Even
■■■■ in their simplest form wildcards give
a way of dealing with a large a number of files,
in either manipulating selections of files or
using wildcards to ignore other selections.
A simple example would be to type into a
Shell: dir #?, in return you will get a straight
forward directory listing. Nothing stunning in
that, but you have just unwittingly used a wild-
card, and probably one of the most commonly
used ones. What you have actually told the
Shell to do is give you a directory listing of
everything in the current directory. It just so
happens that typing dir will do the same thing,
but that's beside the point.
Wildcards allow you to tell the Shell to
match all the filenames in a directory against a
file pattern you have given it. This file pattern is
made up partly of wildcards and partly of a
normal filename. The simplest example
expanding on the first one would be dir l#?.
Here you have told the Shell to list every file
that starts with I.
The wildcard #? literally means anything
and where the Shell encounters it, it will match
anything to it. So if I were to ask you to find all
the words beginning with C and ending in G
you could ask the computer the same with the
following C#?G.
If 1 also wanted words that had an i in the
middle you could do this with C#?I#?G. To put
this in more computer oriented context; if you
want to specify just the icon files in a directory
then you would use #?.info to do so, or for
Jpegsyou could use #?.jpg.
Things start to get a little more complex
when other wildcards are introduced. Two that
are of most use are the NOT and OR wildcards
represented by the - and | symbols. This helps
you lump together wildcard definitions. So if
you wanted to perform some operation on all
the GIF and Jpeg files this would do the trick:
(#?.gif|#?.jpg). The brackets tell the Shell what
the pattern is and the bar tells it that files
matching either wildcard will do. So any file
ending with .GIF or JPG will be used.
The little squiggle symbol, called a tilde, rep-
resents a Boolean not, or tells the Shell to
ignore files that match following file pattern.
This is useful in ASL file requesters that allow
patterns entered to filter the file listing. To get it
to ignore all the icon files you can enter
~(#?.info) and all the icon files will be
removed from the file list. This can be useful
when using a specific program - if you save all
your files off with the same file extension such
as .ww for Wordworth by using #?.ww in the
file pattern gadget only Wordworth files will
be shown.
You should be aware that the hash and
question mark wildcards are actually two sepa-
rate wildcards that when used together just
happen to match any characters. The question
mark will match any single character in a
name. So A?C will match any occurrence of A
and C with any other character in-between
them.
The hash mark is slightly more complex as it
will match zero or more occurrences of a pat-
tern. So A#BC will match A and along with any
number of B's in-between them. So AC, ABC
and ABBBC are all valid matches. As you have
already seen brackets or parenthesise can be
used to enclose wildcard definitions and allow
you to show AmigaDOS exactly which set of
characters it should use, this becomes handy
when you need to show AmigaDOS that you
want to specify a group of characters to match
and not just a single one. So using A#(BC) you
can tell AmigaDOS that you want to match
every A that is followed by any number of BC's.
A final wildcard and one you probably will
not have to use very much in the null character
which is represented with a percent sign and is
just a way of giving the computer a chance to
ignore a match. So A(B|°/o)C will match both
ABC and just AC as you have given the null
option.
You have more than likely come across the situation where
you have typed a command or program name into the
Shell and it has returned with unknown command, but you
know full well that it is on your hard drive. This happens
because the Amiga's operating system maintains a list of
directories which it will search for commands when using
either the Workbench or Shell.
The standard search path is set up in the startup
sequence and you can check what this is by typing PATH
into a Shell and it will display a list of all the directories
that will be searched. If you want to add further directories
you can either add them to the list in the startup sequence
or you could add another path line in the user-startup, and
at the end of list of extra directories put the command
ADD. This tells the path command that you want to add
these extra directories to the current list and to replace it
When using the shelf you can add extra directories at
any time and the current Shell will use the new path list
You should be aware only that Shell will use it and the
Workbench search path will also stay unaffected. !f you
want to update the Workbench path list you need to type
LoadWB NEWPATH and the Workbench will inherit the
new path.
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The /a re st ASL requestor gives you everything ReqToots does including the handy pattern
requestor, wildcards crop up quite a lot when dealing with files
Amiga Computing
MARCH 1997
Phil South looks at
plotting and
drawing functions
in AMOS
Plats
Thicken
The fun part about being your friendly
local AMOS columnist is that I have
absolutely no idea of your level of
understanding on AMOS. This is both
a blessing and a cufse. Do you want machine
code widgets or do you want basic code gener-
ation? Do you want graphics or procedures? My
answer is to put a wide range of things into the
column and let them find their own level. From
the mail I receive via post and the Internet, this
approach seems to be working, as almost
everyone gets what they want eventually, and
as long as it's entertaining you don't seem to
mind what goes on.
AMOS is one of those things which is all
things to all men. Some view it as a means of
putting ideas into action, others see it as per-
sonal development, a way to stretch them-
selves. Either approach is worthwhile and I'm
sure you'll enjoy the bits and bobs I've got lined
up for the next few months. In the meantime,
thanks for all your mail - let's get going with
this months AMOS curiosity.
Top of the Plots
Something a lot of beginners ask me about is
how to make marks on the screen such as
lines, dots, squares etc. The reason I get asked
this has something to da with the old Amiga
Basic, as this was the only kind of graphics you
could produce. I like to call it Etch a Sketch
graphics, as it is based on lines and dots and
boxes, just like the old two knob drawing toy.
It's easy. The first instruction you should look
at is PLOT. This is the easiest command of all
and simply places a dot, in the currently select-
ed ink colour, on the screen, like so:
Ink 9 : Plat 30,54
This places a dot of colour 9, 30 pixels along
the screen and 56 pixels down. There is a easy
way to specify the colour, ii you want it differ-
ent from the Ink colour:
Plot 30,54,9
This is a useful command if you want to create
a starfield in your game, like in the old classic
Calaxians (which may or may not be a bit
before your time...) like so:
its : Curs Off
Do
Going dotty,.
Plot mid(319),«nii(255), SndCIS)
Loop
This fills the screen with multicoloured dots. If
you don't want those of colour 3 to fiash, add
the command:
Flash Off
Okay, that's dots, what about lines? We do this
in pretty much the same way:
Drau 30,56 To 150,200
This draws a line from the first point mentioned
to the last. Simple enough. You can change the
look of the line by adjusting the line style:
tl! : Ink 2
Set Lint SF0FO
Box 50,100 To 150, HO
Set Line 11100110011001100
Box 60,110 To 160,140
The line style is set using the SET LINE com-
mand and this allows you to set the variation of
the pixels in the line. This is a nice and very
underused feature, so write something that uses
it, eh?
The final bunch of features are the box and
circle commands. To make a box, like the one
we just saw in the SET LINE program, we have
to set the top left and bottom right corners of
the box. So:
Box 10,10 To 30,30
makes a box 20 by 20 starting at 10,10 and
ending at 30,30. The circle command is similar
again, but this time you set the centre of the cir-
cle and the radius (the distance from the mid-
dle to the outside of the circle, for those of you
who fell asleep in maths), So you can do this:
Cirtls 100,100,50
Allied to this is the POLYLINE command, which
draws multiple lines. This is like drawing a line
with the DRAW command, only you keep going,
Polyline 10,10 To 20,30 To 40,30 To 58,10 To
200,100
and so on. You can build up quite complicated
pictures like this, but it would take a bit of
graph paper and a lot of sweat to make a
human face.
There was a program once, 1 can't even
remember if I printed it, but it took a drawing
you made with the mouse and turned it into
the code you would need to draw it from poly-
lines! If anyone can find this program I'd be
grateful if they would e-mail it to me.
That's enough for now, I'll move on into
more complicated graphics next time, until then
Happy Amos!
Write
STUFF
If you have any other AMOS pro-
grams or queries about AMOS,
please write to the usual address,
which is: Phil South, Amos Column,
Amiga Computing, Media House,
Adlington Park, Macclesfield, SKIO
4NP. Or you can send e-mail to me
on phil@webscape.co.uk, or via my
home page on http://www.web-
scape. co.uk/ptiil/.
Please send routines on an Amiga
disk with notes on how the program
works on paper, not as text files on
the disk. Make the routines short
enough to appear in print, i.e. no
more than about 30-40 lines of code.
If possible make them use no exter-
nal graphics, if they can't be used
without them, be sure to provide
them on the disk in native IFF for-
mat, the same goes for sound files.
Amiga Computing
MARCH 1997
Larry Hickmott
discusses the
merits of turning
your ideas Into
reality
DTI*
Dilemmas
E
very month in Amiga Computing, we
show you just how versatile this great
machine we use is. One of the most
popular past-times is desktop publish-
ing and in this issue I will cover using graphics in
desktop publishing. The reason for this discus-
sion is simple - most of you will use graphics on
a page to get across a message, either on its
own or in conjunction with text.
The important point to remember about using
graphics to convey a message is that in creating
the image (the message carrier), your aim must
be to use the best tools to allow you to turn your
idea into reality. Forget any preconceived notions
about what is the best graphics format and what
is the best application.
Co into the graphics creation part of the exer-
cise and think hard about what tool will let you
turn an idea for an image into something on the
screen. If a graphics format is going to prevent
you creating certain imagery, look at other graph-
ic formats that will let you create the picture you
require. Don't accept second best.
This thought process is paramount in image
creation. When creating an image (or page), you
need to work backwards. You should know or
have a vague idea of what you want the finai
image to look like. This vision may be something
you have created in your head or an image (or
part thereof) you have seen already. Try dissect-
ing the image and look at how you think differ-
ent bits can be created. Make a note of what too!
is required and create a schedule for the creation
of the different bits.
While working on a recent project, I took an
idea from someone else's advert and applied it
to an image of my own. This required certain
images from a bitmap application such as Art
Effect and then the creation of the final image in
DrawStudio,
One of the effects was to have a relief looking
background with the shadow of other objects
raised above it. The shadow had to be transpar-
When creating an image, think hard about
which application you should use to create
it with and which format should be used for
saving the finished work to disk
Toots on the Amiga for
creating eye catching
graphics are becoming
more advanced and the only
graphics format that can
handle such imagery is
bitmap. Making changes to
bitmap pictures however,
can be a chore
»!■■-■< .F..J^f »M M^
t
-
— \ita t i*°y~
ent I could have done that in DPaint, which sup-
ports transparency, but I wanted to have the luxu-
ry of being able to edit the image at any stage,
make changes and so on which I did in
DrawStudio.
I chose to do this for a particular reason. As I
said, the shadows belonging to objects had to be
transparent to let the background show through
and to give the image depth. Without the trans-
parent shadow the image appears false because
we know in reality that shadows hold details of
what lies under them.
i. ...1 W.- VI. 81 ■ I'm G.lrl IW.S T... I..1 i ■. : :■ ..
I ,1.1. .M.I.ffl.l.lil.L l.lTI.I , ; .!.,.,.!,;.!.^'.!.,.!.!...!., 'I .1^1 ,,.!.],' .
/
WISB
y
-i
This type of image is now oid hat and if you want your pages
to have an air of imagination about them, you'tl need to use
more advanced programs that let you be more creative
Lets now apply this logic to graphics formats. I
could be pig headed and work by the rule that
structured graphic formats give the best printed
result, print more quickly or whatever. But that
would be silly because for one, bitmaps can print
just as well and secondly, with current structured
formats like ProClips and Illustrator 88, it would
stop me having my transparent shadows and
prevent me having bitmap filled objects and
structured elements in the one file.
Consequently, the image would lose ail its
impact because I failed to make sure that the
message the image is to convey is carried
through, while also making sure the graphic for-
mat chosen is suitable.
Experience from 18 years in the business has
taught me I don't need to rely on structured for-
mats for smooth output. The only graphics for-
mats that will let you express your imagination
fully are bitmapped ones, because invariably
structured ones have a drawback or three.
Normally, I'd like to back that statement up with
facts, but that will have to wait because I don't
have the space.
Just remember, there are no best formats or
tools, just tools and formats appropriate to your
ideas and ideas are what makes you special.
Super smooth operator
There is on old wives tale that soys struc-
tured graphics print better than bitmapped
ones. Not so. Bitmapped pictures will print
as smooth as a structured one as long as you
remember this:
If your image is two colour, black and
white for example, create the image at the
same resolution it is being output at (so it
prints pixel for printer dot) and scale it down
in the publishing application to the required
size. Lets convert that into practical informa-
tion: If your image is to be one inch wide on
paper and your printer is 300 dpi, create the
image four inches wide and scale it down to
one inch in your publishing program.
If the image is full colour and is to be one
inch on paper, create it about an inch and
half on screen and make sure you use anti
aliasing so text and so on print smoothly.
There are of course exceptions and what I
would recommend you experiment and get a
feeling for what works and what doesn't In
this game, there is no substitute for
experience.
Amiga Computing
MARCH 1997
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Siamese System V1.5
The Siamese Syslem was designed to enable Ihe computer user to have multiple
platforms (Amiga WB3+, Windows 95 MacOS) appear as if they are a single machine, so as lo mako the
user more productive. It does Ihis by taking Ihe two machines and a possible MacOS emulator on Ihe
Amiga and using one keyboard / mouse 1 monitor. Once this is setup you operate one keyboard and mouse
on all ol your software, look at one suitable monitor that can handle all the screen modes you wish to use
and then as far as you are concerned you just run software, you need not worry if that software is Win95.
MacOS or Amiga software because it justs runs in front of you. Obviously this is backed up by the (act that
Ihe Siamese System has atl of Ihe drives from the different operating systems mounted within the Amiga
Operating System so that you can share lifes instantly between applications.
With the standard pack, file transfer is via aerial, but il you have a suitable SCSI card on the
Amiga and PC and a shared SCSI drive lor buffering, you can send the files via a very high speed SCSI
network developed for and included in the standard Siamese System software. Rates of severa: Mb/sec.
have been recorded with a high speed SCSI network selup between the machines. Please note that if you
have the SCSI network installed you s!iil need the Serial connection for the Siamese control software link.
You can cut and paste text between applications and olher functions are available lo make
the system integrated, sharing of printers, programs like Winexe or MCl which allow the Amiga to launch
PC applications from the Amiga or control PC MultiMedia devices, even from Dopus. There is also a full
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One more feature to be added in March as a
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Dave Cusick
searches for
an impressive
Web browser
Surfing with
the enemy
Although bolh IBrowse and AWeb have
come along massively in recent months,
the Amiga is still trailing in the world of
t^^^M Web browsers. Mony Web sites, par-
ticularly larger American ones, are simply not view-
able on our beloved machine - and il they are,
don't look anything like they would on a PC or
Macintosh. The Web has been completely trans-
formed by the extended HTML command sets used
by Netscape's Navigator (or Communicator, as
v4.0 seems set to be called) and lolely, Microsoft's
Internet Explorer.
Faced with this situation, the Am:ga enthusiast
has several alternatives. At one time, simply forget-
ting about fancy Web si'es would not have been a
greof loss. As recently as o year ago, most commer-
cial sites were simply colourful odverts with no
meaningful content. However this situation has
changed dramatically, with the Web finally begin-
ning to fulfill its enormous potential and missing out
is no longer o remotely attractive option.
The second option, to either sell up or pawn oil
your belongings so you can afford to buy a PC, is
the most drastic and probably least attractive
(although nevertheless a large number of Amiga
users unfortunately seem to have followed this
path). The third option is one that on increasing
number of Web surfers are opting for- emulation.
Because Apple Macintosh machines are based
on the same 680x0 technology as Amigas, they
are the natural choice for emulation. The Mac also
boasts some of the best productivity software in
existence, such as Microsoft Word, Adobe
Photoshop and Quark Express (all of which are
used in the creation of this magazine] as well as a
You can find out
about ShapeShifter
at one of the excel-
tent Web sites dedi-
cated to it,..
nir mil L'o-n- iMft *p«lal WJ I.U Q
Aniul IMiMickrln*
vol* tma
gg SEES. •_'::,.._
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H-rJiiftrt: **• f-f !* n»i.l*l«-
■ '^BBnniH u.,i nl „.r. mi .1111 WTM.-f
>H „, . - ■ . . . c ;-»...!-.
a s 5T 5
ii Hi
SErSsSs." "-
,.,and you'll soon be running Mac
software on your betoved Amiga
If you «r» uniting h*r« rnrthn (if ft lima, #( me take a incn ma.man: to welcome you to tnt
1 ■"'Official 3n»piSHft»r I'jppji pig*. I iry to >#*p • varytmng up (9 aiffl ana I kaap A ilook.
Duifoi niwmd ujBfUi trikigi Ho-paftjHy all tn* ntw and coal piogiam ars ngrt Ibr&il
taxing Many of lF>e Tile* ars stored directly on my iaruar alaviating (low downlead! from
placat lucn as Aininfll Tyou find anylhing rt|ri cul-of-flal* Ornrlf sing let me know! S»rt3
e-mai| to chaaamanOmlin^l cop.
Special thanks to Simon McGIM
Smonp-tVUCHJIIy hwit*.) !' It ■>:- at! rig rs--l hj!( * ;. ; i.1 :<~r LuKllmg rot: of thr~ .ntrmaiign f?r gjr
UK Trunk* S.n>or I
# ?
Omar imsfgsiiRg ilnki
! Iv M,u-inlt>-.li l !ni. .^iJisiiiri
Woh llm-clntv shjp. Miil'trf I
powerful version of Netscape Navigator.
Once upon a lime, Macintosh emulation
involved expensive hardware solutions such as the
original Emplant board. These days, although o
powerful Amiga is a must before you even start
considering emulation seriously, there's no need
for an addilionol investment in an expensive hard-
ware emulator. Most people simply use
ShapeShifter.
The program can be downloaded from various
FTP sites and Web pages, but before it can be run
there is o fairly major hurdle to overcome - you
will need to obtain an image of a Macintosh ROM.
The ROM image cannot be distributed because il is
the copyright of Apple Computers, so technically it
is illegal to make an image of a ROM unless you
yourself own the ROM in question.
Once you have obtained a ROM image, the
nexl step is lo gel hold of the Macintosh system 7
software. Unfortunately this comes on Mac high
density floppies, but you'll find information about
how to get around this on the second Web site list-
ed below. Then, provided you have Workbench
2.1, plenty of memory (lOmb lo run Netscape)
and al least an 020 inside your Amiga,
ShapeShifter can be fired up. The Macintosh emu-
la! on happ'ly mullilasks, so yOL car run Netscape
on a Macintosh screen whilst running AmFTP or
other native Amiga programs at the same lime.
On faster Amigo systems, ShapeShifter man-
ages lo emulate a Mac ot a pretty respectable
shfifter Web Pages
The Official Shapeshifter Page
http://www.uni-mainz,de/-bauec002/SSMain.htffll
Unofficial ShapeShifter Page
http://www2.misnet.com/~chaasmart/ssweb/
Information about ShapeShifter Mac Emulation on the Amiga
http://uww.execpc.com/-innuendo/amiga/emulators/55, http://www.zriet.com/-colin/text/amigatosh.html
html
speed. It can actually emulate Macintosh screens
in 256 colours on AGA machines and 1 6 colours
on ECS machines, but you'll be better off with a
graphics card. Not only will this enable you to run
software in up to 16.7 million colours, but because
the Mac uses chunky pixel graphics (whereas the
Amiga uses bilplane graphics), using a graphics
cord will make a world of difference when emulat-
ing in colour.
Again, there are patches around to try to
improve speed when emulating in colour on AGA
machines ■ check out the sites below for details
ond keep on eye on the misc/emu/ directory of
Aminet. Of course, even if you decide to take the
plunge and buy an accelerator or graphics card
for emulation purposes, you'll still be spending a
lot less than you would if you were to splash out
on a new computer.
With ShapeShifter up and running you'll finally
be able lo experience Netscape Navigator. It's not
perfect, but is light years ahead of any of the
native Amiga browsers currently available in terms
of features. You'll finally be able to view frames
sites (although frames are, in my humble opinion,
a pain anyway], enjoy secure on-line ordering and
view extended HTML3.2 layouts including fancy
tables and exact lext control. Owners of super-last
Amigas might even want to experiment with
Realaudio software. Having your own Mac might
not change your life, but will certainly change the
way you view the Web forever.
Contact
If you wish to contact me, my e-mail
address is dove@dcus.demon.co.uk.
Questions, suggestions and feedback
are all more than welcome. I also have
a homepage, which can be found at
http://www.dcus.demon.co.uk/.
Amiga Computing
MARCH 1997
Some advice from
Paul Overaa on
eliminating
sequencer
timing problems
Most musicians ol some time or other
will need to transfer sequences to
their Amiga from an external Midi
•^■MM unit. This could be a drum
machine, a standalone sequencer that uses
'mini' disks rather than the 3 1/2" variety or
some other unit where it's not possible to use
the standard approach of saving the sequence
as a Midi file and loading it directly into the
Amiga. In all such cases it then becomes neces-
sary to link the external unit to your Amiga [via
a Midi coble| ond physically transfer the song
sequences by playing them on the source
machine whilst recording the output.
The one thing you shouldn't do is try and
adjust the playing and recording speeds manu-
ally. No matter how careful you are in adjusting
the tempo sellings you are unlikely to get it right
and a 120 bar source sequence might end up
becoming anything between 1 19 and 121 bars
in length. Whilst this will not affect the playback
of ihe new sequence it will make sequence edit-
ing a nightmare because the original bar divi-
sions present in Ihe sequence are destroyed.
Fortunately the solution is easy. Set up the
external device so it generates Midi clocks and
then arrange for the sequencer doing the
recording lo use those clock messages rather
than following its own internal timing clock.
Almost all Amiga sequencers have menu
options for using an external clock in this way,
Some, such as Dr T's KCS, even provide con-
trols which allow you to choose whether an
explicit Midi Start message is needed lo make
the sequencer begin recording or whether it
should start as soon as the first clock is
received.
These features are not always needed but
can be handy when you're dealing with on
external Midi device thai generates liming
clocks continuously (some old drum machines
had an annoying habit of doing this even when
a drum pattern was not playing].
So to record from any external unit you lirslly
set it up so it will generate timing clocks whilst
playing and ihen load up your sequencer pro-
gram and select ihe external clock option. Sel
MIDI
HIDI n.r.,.
No HIDI Surt
Sont Per Btnd
Dili
MIM Clk on Cou
m-in
_fl
VELOCITY rECBL
ill'
Ieat«
Chjnnti
_i
JtECMDlHG
Control I *rv I
Sirt* Htu Track!
uaiuixr
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Filter
■>><■••
1?;
Mi&l {lock
MIDI w 3oni Po
Sl*iH/H*.»«!Llf |
Sttpff/tfit
'¥
OTHblt
T«J6« Chi tow Rat to
rMDJ keys
Dron Chapiflol
Otbounca _SS
Cut Mow* AnounT _1
Dr T's KCS sequencer can either wait for real Midi 'start'
messages or starting recording on the first received Midi clock
Recording rhythm patterns tram this Yamaha HYB drum machine is
a prime candidate for using your sequencer's external clock option
Ihe sequencer lo record, hil the start button on
the external unit - you'll find the sequencer will
record Ihe sequence exactly as it wos written
without any bar length timing glitches in sight.
In case you're wondering how all this techni-
cal magic works here's a brief run-down on
what happens beneath the surface; Midi clocks
are single byte Midi messages thai have the
value decimal 248 [that's F8 hex]. When you
set o sequencer to its external clock option the
internal liming mechanism is disabled and atten-
tion is focused purely on the incoming Midi
data.
The external device will be transmitting clock
bytes al ihe rate of 24 per quarter note and
these will be received along with all the other
Midi data. Whenever the sequencer reads one
of these clocks it adjusts its bar position counter
by l/24lh of a quarter note. By the lime 24
have been collected ihe sequencer will know
that one bar of data has been received.
When you record dala in this way the
absolute tempo of Ihe external device doesn't
really matter. To double the playing speed you
double the number of Midi clocks sent. Halve it
and you halve the number of Midi clocks. Either
way the sequencer will be able to recognise
each bar of music as it arrives and if, for exam-
ple, you play exactly 120 bars of a sequence •
you will end up recording exactly 120 bars
regardless of tempo,
These type of external clock based Midi links
Linking Two Amigas
also come in useful on other occasions. You
might come across a collection of songs record-
ed with an old sequencer which didn't provide
options for exporting sequences as Midi files
To move those songs across to a more mode'n
sequencer you just need to borrow another
Amiga and link the two machines together
using a Midi connecting lead (and two Midi
interfaces].
Once you've linked the source ond destina-
tion machines together and loaded the respec-
tive sequencer programs, do pretty much the
same thing as before: Set ihe sequencer Ihot is
going lo play the song sequences lo ils internal
clock option, making sure that it is also sel io
generate liming clock messages at the same
time. Then set the sequencer being used for
recording to ils external clock option and start it
recording.
Nothing will actually happen unlil the source
sequencer is started. This is because the
recording sequencer will be waiting for those
all important Midi clocks ond ihese will not
appear until the sequencer being used to play
the song is actually started. When you do hit
ihe source sequencer's slart button however,
everything should fall inlo place. The destina-
tion (recording end] sequencer will ihen record
and store a copy of ihe original song molerial
bar for bar.
Amiga Computing
MARCH 1997
Looking for an easy
way to organise
backup operations?
Paul Overaa shows
you how
On many platforms, including the PC,
REXX (the language upon which
ARexx is based) is used primarily as a
^^M macro language for system house-
keeping operations. Moving and renaming sets of
files, batch editing of text files, performing stan-
dardised backup operations and so on.
This system-oriented use is perfectly under-
standable on these other platforms since the
operating system is, to a large extent, the only
other 'process' that can be communicated with.
ARexx of course, has no such restrictions and in
this sense Amiga users are extremely fortunate.
ARexx's ability to communicate easily with
other programs does tend to result however, in
the potentially useful batch processing links with
AmigaDOS, often taking a back seat Now this is
clearly a shame because for these types of appli-
cations, ARexx is far more powerful than
AmigaDOS's own scripting language and you
need look no further than the rather neglected
area of data backup to realise the possibilities.
Whilst data safety is obviously the primary con-
cern, the objective of any type of backup arrange-
ments ought really to be to get some sort of sys-
tem going which makes routine data backup as
easy as possible. It is, after all, a well known fact
that procedures which are awkward tend not to
get fol [owed.
Fortunately for most users, backing up a com-
plete high-capacity hard disk on a regular basis is
almost never necessary. For example, programs
themselves, once backup copies of the master
disks have been made, do not need further regu-
lar backing up. The unwritten rule with data files
of course is that you back up files only as fre-
quently as they change.
The key to success is organisation. Make sure
you have appropriate directory structures and/or
hard disk partitioning (ie the creation of a number
of different logical drives). One big help is to make
sure you keep data files separate from the applica-
tions programs which create and use them.
Within this highest level division of programs
versus data, the next most useful hierarchy criteria
is the required file backup frequency. If, for exam-
ple, an order file is backed up once a day, it is
worth keeping that data in a directory (or hard
disk partition) that contains only those files that
need to be backed up with this frequency.
An ARexx Examp l e
Once you have a workable backup plan available
ARexx can, in most cases, completely eliminate
the need for using dedicated backup utilities. Let's
say, for instance, you're interested in automating
the backup of a directory called 'daily' that exists
on a partition called Work. In short you want to
copy, to floppy disk, any files present in that direc-
tory whose contents have changed since the
JUmlgaDOS
Connection
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26-NOV-96 H:h:13
I
With a lititc organisation, plus some help from ARexx,
almost all backup operations can become a piece of cake!
drawer was last backed up.
The trick here is to adopt the same method as
used by most archiving utilities. Whenever a file is
backed up the archive bit of the source file gets
set If, when the next backup is performed, that
bit is still set the file hasn't changed and does not
need recopying to your backup disk.
As far as doing this type of thing via ARexx is
concerned the important first step is identifying
the names of the files present in the chosen
source directory. ARexx's address command can
be used in conjunction with AmigaDOS's LI5T
command to generate just such a list.
One approach is to set up a couple of constant
definitions to point to the source directory and to
a temporary file for storing the list command out-
put. The files, nodates and nohead switches inci-
dentally can be used on the LIST command line to
ensure that only the file names, size and protec-
tion flags values are sent to the output file. ARexx
code such as...
BACKUP SOURCE='.ork:daily/'
TEHP= , Ra«:t/teip'
address coaaand 'list' BACKUPJOURCE 'to' TEBP
'files
nodates nohead'
therefore ends up generating a temporary file con-
sisting of text lines whose general format is... .
By reading these lines and splitting them into
individual name, size and protection flag values
using the ARexx PARSE instruction it's then easy
enough to check each flag set to see whether the
archive bit is clear or not. Any file whose archive
bit is not set represents a file that has been altered
since the last backup, so all we need to do is copy
ail such files to the destination backup directory -
resetting the archive bits of each source file as we
do so.
Now your individual requirements for backup
are doubtless going to be different from mine but
the example shown in listing 1 should give a rea-
sonable starting point for creating your own back-
up scripts. In this case it's the general ideas that
are the important thing - so the thing to do is to
set up some dummy source/destination directo-
ries on your own system {modifying the script's
directory references to suit) and then experiment.
Once you see how these archive bit arrangements
work you should then be easily able to incorpo-
rate similar ideas into your own backup arrange-
ments!
/' backup. reu */
TEHP='ta«:t/te.p'
BACKUP_SO(fUE=*-ork :daUy/'
BACKUPJtSr='dfO:daily*
ARCHlVEJI^'a'
address ccuand 'list' BACKUPJOURCE 'to' TEPIP 'files nodates nohead'
if upentfh,TiXP,'r') then
do
do while "EOF(fh)
line=Readln(fh)
if Length(lint)>0 then
do
parse var line file date flags
if P(jsfARCHIVE.BlT,flags)=D then
do
f i Le=BnCK«JP_SOUHCE| | file
say 'Backing up... 1 file
address conianif 'topy >N I L :
address caanand
end
end
end
call CUse(fh)
address conand 'delete >N1L:'
say 'Operations coiplelei'
end
file 'to' BACKUPJE51
'protect >NIL:' file '+a add'
TEBP
Listing t: a typical archive bit based ARexx backing up script. Notice how the >NIL: statement
is used to discard output from the copy, protect and delete commands!
EH
Amiga Computing
MARCH 1997
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Paul Overaa
starts work on
a date
stamping utility
Over the next two months I'm going to
turn the skeleton code provided on the
February coverdisk (or on our Web site)
IM into a utility that will run in Workbench
that can extract date stamps (in ASCII form) from
all files in a given directory. There are plenty of uses
for such a program but the one I have in mind is
one which will allow easy date stamping of Web
pages.
If, for example, you check out my corner of
Amiga Computing's Web site you will see ail pages
have a last updated date stamp in them. These
dates are in fact generated automatically by a utility
currently written in C, but I thought a directly coded
680x0 version might be useful for the purposes of
this column because, once you've seen the ideas
involved, you'll realise that the same framework
can be used to create many other utilities.
The starting point for the discussions is the
DirHandlerQ routine whose main job at the
moment (if we disregard the temporary print/clear
name operations) is to copy the selected directory
name from the asl requester. Copying is usually
done so a selected filename can be added to a
directory to produce a complete path for the file.
For our current application however, being only
interested in drawer names, we can eliminate the
copying and use trie asl requester's own directory
buffer. This approach involves some minor changes
in that the text pointers of the IntuiText structures
cannot now be defined using the original static
dirname reference.
Instead we install the pointers at run time (after
the internal asl buffers have been allocated). The
new method, which you'l! find in my AllocfileReqO
routine, is to load aO with the asl requester base
and load al with each IntuiText base in turn to
copy the pointers using indirect addressing instruc-
tions like this:
nave. L f r_Drayer(aO! / it_lTextta1 !
These and a few other minor alterations - such as
adding an image to the display using the Intuition
DrawlmageQ function and changing the window
and menu text - will be easy enough to recognise
by comparing this month's source with that from
he previous issue. The real work however, involves
extending the DirHandlerQ routine so it can search
the named directory and locate any files present,
Dos Operations
Once a directory name is available the directory
must be locked using the Dos library LockQ func-
tion. An FIB {File Info Block) must also be allocated
using AllocDosObjectQ and it's initial directory val-
ues set by calling Examined An ExNextQ loop can
then be used to examine all the files in the select-
ed directory.
The easiest way to explain the relationship
StantpOnIT!
DirHandler
move».
d(H5/aG-a2/a5,
(a7l
preserve registers
lea
function_stack2
a!
for alloc/dealloc operations
littl?
int dir niie tsee coverdi s
k source for details)
jsr
Locktir
beq.s
.deallocate
jsr
AllocFib
beq.s
.deallocate
jsr
ExatnneOir
beq.s
. deallocate
jsr
EiaiineNeil
■ deal Locate
love. 1
beq.s
none. 1
[a5)*,d0
.exit
dO,aO
retrieve function pointer
jsr
lad)
and execute routine if it exists!
bra.s
.deallocate
.(lit
BOVei.
(a7)*,dtH5/aQ-a2/a5
restore registers
rts
•
LockDirUnlocfcD
ir sit
coverdisk source for
these
routines;
AllocFib/FreeF
ib see
coverdisk source for ttese routines;
EnaiiineDir
see
coverdisk source for
this
routine;
EiaaineFlext
move.t
lib p,d2
siove.t
d2,a2
copy in address reg
.loop
nove.l
dirUck_p,d1
CALLS!
ExHett, MSBase
jet details of this entry
Est. 1
dO
beq.s
.exit
no lore entries ?
tst.l
tibJirEntryTyp
lad)
bpt
.loop
directory - so ignore
;PR0CESS 1
bra.s
.loop
cheek for next
.exit
rts
'
Listing 1: Framework used for the new DirHandlerQ Dos operations
between the various steps involved is to refer you
to the flowchart shown in figure I. One difficulty
with this set of operations is that several of the Dos
function calls can fail so we need to plan for this in
advance.
No excuses here - I'm adopting the same func-
tion pointer trick as is used for the main program
resource allocation and deallocation. A separate
function pointer stack area has been set up with
each of the above mentioned steps coded as sepa-
rate subroutines. Those functions that require a cor-
responding deallocation operation, providing they
are successful, then push the address of their deal-
location routine onto that stack. If you trace
through the example code you will see the zero
flag always gets set when an error occurs so the
main control section of the routine consists of just a
set of jsr and beq instructions.
Listing I shows the overall framework and a few
words need to be said about the loop in my
ExamineNextO routine. Each time the Dos library's
ExNextfJ routine is called, details of the next file or
directory entry in the locked directory will be
retrieved and placed in the file info block. The con-
vention used is that if the fib.DirEntryType field of
the FIB is greater than zero, that entry is a directory.
If it is less than zero, it indicates a file. In short, it is
necessary to check the field and process only those
ExNextQ discovered entries that relate to files.
BrNextQ fails, incidentally, as soon as no more
entries present in the locked directory {returns a
zero value in do) and so I've used this characteristic
to terminate the search loop. Of course the task
now is to extend the loop so date stamps are
extracted from all recognised files and this of
course is exactly what we'll be doing next month.
In the mean time you'll find the updated code and
details of the various functions used on the
coverdisk.
No
START
LOCK DIRECTORY OK?
YrJ
ALLOCATI1 1TQ OK?
Yej
¥111 INITIALISATION OX?
Yd
UNCHECKED F1LMMR ENTRY EXISTS?
Yn
PILE? *>'
Ya
| process ulITI
FREE FIB MEMORY
UNLOCK DIRECTORY
END
Figure I: Flowchart description ot
the operations performed by the
new DirHandlerQ routine
Amiga Computing
MARCH 1997
r
EW
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S Y S T EMS
NEW LOW PRICES
I Browse V1 .1 i»iiK i™ soppom £29.95
Net&Web £39.95 WLi
Net&Web2 £69.95 ^^P >
Termite £39.95 ^^ g
TermiteTCP £39.95 || ^
Cinema4DV3 £199.95 Ul g
CinemaWORLD £39.95 ^^ q
CinemaFONT £39.95
Studio II Professional £49.95 i |^L o
DiskMAGIC2 ..£39.95 ^^ Ft
MaxonMAGIC £29.95 ' ! ' ^
MediaMAGIC 149.95 |L q;
HiSoftC + +. £169.95 Jo
HiSoft C++ Lite £79.95 flM g
Devpa< 3 £49.95 ^^J =,
Highspeed Pascal £79.95 ^Br g
HiSoft BASIC 2 £49.95 Z
Camesmith £79.95 ^ ^
Twist 3 Database £99.95 ^J -
ProFligbt Simulator £1 9.95 ™
Aura 8 £34.95
Aura 16 £99.95
Clarity 16 - £129.95 ^^ </>
ProMidi Interface £24.95 |hk g
Megalosound £34.95
VideoMaster £69.95 i fc o
VideoMaster RGB £109.95 «■ uj
Vid. oM islei VGA. fc B
VideoMaster AGA RGB £129.95
ColourMaster £69.95 m
if £
)az Drive ,.,.,,! £449.00 J^W O
SMD-IOf) MPEG decoder ..£199.95 |L °
Classic Squirrel £69.95 ^^ ^
Surf Squirrel £99.95 tk >
2x CD-ROM Drive ,...«■<<. £89.95 BJ
4x CD ■ ROM Drive m .... £1 29.95 ^ ■
12x CD-ROM Drive ic^i .. £229.95
ALL MAJOR CREDIT CARDS ACCEPTED
POSTAGE £2, COURIER £4 (NEXT DAY £6)
(HP, JA2, SUD-100 A CD-ROM BHMi ST COURIER ONL!^
HiSoft Systems
The Old School
Greenfield
Bedford MK45 5DE
Phone 0T525 718181
Fax 01525 713716
Email sales@hisoft.co.uk
.1
*••••••••
•
1
zip
00 MEGABYTES OF
IjuTiMElIMHMa]
ON ONE CARTRIDGE
INCLUDES £30 OF EXTR
HiSoffs Amiga Zip Tools software
25-50 way SCSI lead converter
One free zip cartridge
HIDDEN EXTRAS
QUAD SPEED
CD-ROM DRIUE
INCLUDES £30 OF EXTRAS
High quality external case
power supply and lead
scsi lead
One FREE CD-ROM
NO HIDDEN EXTRAS
CALL OSOO 223 660 FREE
—Your Safe Passage Through The Jungle
NEW
IS#ft
SYSTEMS
NEW LOW PRICES
new Cinema4D V3 £199.95
mew CrnemaFONT £39.95 &kdl
new CinemaWORLD £39.95
Termite £39.95 )| s
TermiteTCP £39.95 ^Al g
Studio II Professional £49.95 ^^i o
new DiskMAGIC2 £39.95
MaxonMAGIC £29.95 ^£ g
«ew Mt'di.iMAGK £49.95 ^^ o.
Upper Disk Tools £14.95
new HiSoft C+ + £169.95 UL ^
mew HiSoft C+ + Lite £79.95 ™ g
Devpac 3 f.4'). 45 fl^^ ck
Highspeed Pascal £79.95 ^^1 °
HiSoft BASIC 2 £49.95 ^P g
Gami'smith £79.95 z
new Twist 3 Database £99.95 fc |J{
ProFlight Simulator £19.95 fe^fl ^
AuraS .£34.95 ^^ ni
Aura 16 £99.95
Clarity 16 £129.95
ProMidi Interface £24.95 ^^fc &
Megalosound £ (4.'J5 ^k^ g
VideoMastei £69.95 ^^^ =C
VideoMaster RGB £109.95 fe <3
VideoMaster AGA £~'j.<)^ wH m
VideoMaster AGA RGB £129.95 ta^^ ^
ColourMaster £69.95
Zip Drive apcaucrfw) £159.00 aa^
J az Drive (used £44'). (10 B^B °
SMD-100 MPEG decoder ..£199.95 bL g
Classii Squirrel £69.95 jj'
Surf Squirrel £99.95 ■ flfc
2\ CD-ROM Drive ,.,.,,!, £89.95 M
4x CD-ROM Drive <™«d £129.95 ^9
12x CD-ROM Drive trad) .. £229.95
ALL MAJOR CREDIT CARDS ACCEPTED
POSTAGE E2, COURIER £4 (NEXT DAY £6)
(jn>. JAZ, SJWO 100 A CD-ftOM DRVCS Bt COOftlEH ONiy}
HiSoft Systems
The Old School
Greenfield
Bedford MK45 5DE
Phone 01525713181
Fax 01525 713716
Email sales@hisoft.co.uk
JLi
CALL OSOO 223 GGO FREE
HiSoft Systems— Your Safe Passage Through The Jungle
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